United We Stand
by A'isha Ishtar
Summary: Two mechanics, each working for a different cause. Bold Aspen is allied with the Autobots, while timid Stacie suffers through the Decepticons' employment. Will there be another war? If so... who will win, once and for all? Optimus/OC, Megatron/OC
1. Inside These Four Walls

**Disclaimer: Well, see, it's a funny story. I USED to own Transformers. But then some people called my brother came and took my DVD. *rimshot* I think I own the FIRST movie, but other than that... yeah, just don't try and sue me. Trust me, you won't get much.**

**Got this idea after watching the new Transformers movie. _3: Dark of the Moon_. I found it quite awesome, and it only increased my love for Optimus Prime and hate/love for Megatron. So what do I decide to do? ... Why, make a fanfiction of what I want to happen for the fourth movie! That's WHAT. ... Sorta, I guess.**

**So yeah, the beginning of this starts off just a little while after the third movie ends - maybe a few days, a week or so. Can't let Optimus go too long without an arm, can we? XD**

**Soooo... MAJOR movie spoilers for the third movie. So if you don't mind, please keep reading! If you do mind, you're welcome to click the "backspace page" button, I won't be offended.**

**Read on and I hope you enjoy my attempt at a plot!**

* * *

><p>"<em>This<em> is who we're trusting to repair the Autobots? Optimus Prime and Bee and all the others? Are you kidding me?"

"Sam, really, I'm sure she's experienced."

"Experienced? Carly, for God's sakes, look at her!"

I popped my gum, just staring with a bored look at the couple arguing in front of me. Scrawny dark-haired guy - I assumed this Sam person who had, to my understanding, saved the world several times - and the voluptuous blonde, his girlfriend, with the curves in all the right places - i.e., everywhere I'd never had them.

Mentally I had already bashed Sam's head in with my shiny new wrench, but I was making no move to physically carry it out. After all, if I did everything in real life that I did in my fantasies, I'd be way past fired by now. I'd be in a damn straitjacket in Smithfield Asylum, right next to Michael Myers. But wouldn't that be _fun_? Hell yeah.

... Although, in Sam's defense, I probably should _not_ have been dressed in a pink shirt that said "I Heart Geeks" with a pair of glasses in the heart, a _Star-Trek_-inspired silver skirt, and with nothing on my feet. Also, it may have been wise to spit out my gum and take my iPod out of _both_ ears before coming here.

"Look, 'Sammy'," I commented, folding my arms over my chest so that my wrench was in his view. "I don't mean to downplay everything you've done so far, but seriously, back the hell off for a sec. When it comes to mechanics, I know better. I know you want to see them fixed. I'll do it, but you have to _let_ me. I'm not going to just leave them."

Sam all but glared at me for a minute, but then his look softened a little. He looked over to the blonde, Carly, as if he could talk to her without speaking, and then back at me. It didn't look like he quite trusted me, but he was going to interrogate me. "Do you promise? Huh? Can you promise me that all of them are going to work exactly the same as the day they got here?"

I shifted my weight. "Look, Sam. Did Captain Kirk continue his mission when Spock was suffering in _pon farr_?"

His mouth hung open a little. "_You're_ a Trekkie?"

"Hell no!" came a shout from inside the room where the Autobots were. "What kind of a friend would let his best buddy die from that kinda intense emotion? That'd just be dick-ish!"

"Exactly, unknown disembodied voice," I agreed, putting my hand with the wrench on my hip. "_No_ way, Jose. Kirk risked his job to go to Vulcan so that Spock could mate-but-not-anything-sexual with T'Pring on the sacred ground! So then, if I'm Kirk and all these Autobots are Spock, and I don't know who the hell T'Pring would be since she betrayed our poor Vulcan by-"

"I get it, I get it," Sam sighed, holding up a hand. "Alright, look... I don't exactly trust you yet. _But_, and this is a big but-"

I couldn't hold back a snicker, and Sam glared at me. I held up my hands in mock surrender. "Dude, you _totally_ set me up for that!" I looked at Carly. "Did he not set me up for that?"

Carly smiled, but opted not to say anything, just shaking her head.

"Okay, so what's the 'but'?"

"_But_..." Sam shook his head as well. "I'll... let you work on the 'Bots, only 'cause everyone else seems to think you know what you're doing." He nodded, pointing at me. "But the gum - gotta go. Choking hazard, gets-caught-in-gears hazard-"

"Alright, I can take a hint." I raised my hand. "No more gum from now on, scout's honor. Now... which of the Autobots is damaged the worst?"

"Well, some are beyond repair..." Sam began.

I quirked an eyebrow. "Beyond repair? As in... totally dismantled with their pieces strewn across the globe? Come on, Sam, _anything_ can be repaired."

"No, as... as in... dead," Carly clarified.

I felt a pang go through my left side. "Oh... God. That really sucks." I took a breath and bowed my head, my Catholic heritage prompting me to say a quick prayer. "God be kind to them. Peace is yours in heaven." I looked up, pulling a scrunchie out of my pocket and tying up my black hair. "Alright. Besides our poor casualties, who took the most damage?"

"Optimus Prime." Sam waved me over as he and Carly led me through the doors to the place where the Autobots lived. "Got his arm blown clean off."

"Manage to save it for me?" I asked, following them and pulling my iPod totally out of my ears. "It's a lot easier to reattach an arm... when you actually _have_ an arm."

"What, you couldn't build one?"

"I could, but the longer you take to attach the arm, the worse the injury is bound to get."

Sam paused and gave me a confused look. "I thought you were a _mechanic_, not a _doctor_."

I shrugged. "I'm a little of both. Majored in mechanics, minored in pre-med. Turned out it's pretty handy, huh?"

"Alright, well..." Sam shook his head. "Optimus is right through here, he's the biggest one, mainly red and blue, some silver. He's also the greatest leader I've ever met, so you treat him with any disrespect and I'll personally-"

"Hey, kid, I give credit where it's due. I'm assuming he's the one who helped you save this whole damn planet three times, so I'm not gonna be giving him anything _but_ respect."

"And _don't_ call me 'kid', I'm _not_ a kid."

"Oh, okay... _kid_." I grinned and walked through the door, not quite sure what to expect.

I stood in awe of all the machines in the room. The first one I could see was the biggest - blue, red, silver. Missing an arm. With my jaw hanging wide open, I took a few steps forward, then broke out into a run towards it - _him_. When I got about ten feet in front of him, I just stopped and _stared_ up at him. "Oh my pancake-flipping _God_!" I shouted, and it definitely echoed around in the huge room. "I've never seen technology this advanced! Paprika on a _pickle_, this is amazing!"

"Will you show _respect_?" Sam called as he and Carly caught up with me.

"Yeah yeah, I'm showing respect for this..." I shook my head as I looked the Autobot up and down multiple times, searching for the perfect word to describe this magnificent creature I'd just laid eyes on. "_Wow_! Hey Sammy, where's a ladder? I gotta get up there and look at all this!"

"Ladder's right there," Sam answered sorely, gesturing to the side of the mech.

I shoved my iPod and wrench at him, racing over to the ladder. I wheeled it over to the robot and climbed up, examining the frayed circuits and faulty wiring where obviously something had sliced his arm off. It wasn't even a clean cut, just like something had blindly hacked away at it a couple times. "Good _God_." I whistled, looking up into his bright blue optical sensors. "You really got beat-up, didn't you?"

He blinked several times, but it wasn't a confused kind of blink - like most people do when they meet me. It was... a bit sad, a bit happy. It didn't clue me in that he was confused - no, it _made me_ confused. Guess it must be an Autobot thing. "I did what I had to do to save your world. If I was wounded in my duty protecting Earth and its people, so be it."

"Still!" I leaned over to further look at them, and shook my head. "It would _not_ be a good idea to touch these wires without gloves, and anything you don't wanna touch without gloves, _really_ shouldn't be still attached to you." I rolled my eyes, blowing out a breath. "I'm gonna have to replace all this, call my electrician brother..." I shot a smile at him. "And I don't like him, so let that tell you how far I'm willing to go for ya, big guy."

"Show respect!" Sam shouted from below.

"Shut your trap!" I retorted, momentarily tearing my eyes away from my precious robot. I looked back and grinned. "Well, don't think I introduced myself. Aspen Singletary, mechanic and... well, not really a doctor, but I do have medical knowledge." I looked down to Sam again. "Hey Sammy, where's the arm?"

"Somewhere else!"

I groaned. "Thank you, Sam the Science Guy!" I turned back to the mech and bowed my head. "And you...?"

"Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. It is a great pleasure to meet you, Miss Aspen."

I looked up with a grin on my face and a flush on my cheeks. "Well, that's nice to hear for once! So, I'm going to patch you up, but I'll have to do it tomorrow, most of the tools I need are at my house and I hafta call my brother. So why don't you acquaint me with the rest of your 'Bot brigade?"

* * *

><p>I was drawn to the river bank by something I couldn't explain. I had only been walking along, on my way back home from the library. I still had to get a real job (because according to my parents, "online automotive technology consultant" wasn't a real job, and that they'd put me through college for nothing) and I had been at the library hoping that my friend Sheila would have heard about anything. She was a librarian so she heard <em>everything<em>. But no luck.

What I found at the bank was not what I expected. I had of course experienced the recent war between the two alien groups - Autobots and Decepticons. It was shaking, horrible... especially for me, I thought I would die. I didn't even know who I was rooting for... I just wanted it to be over. Whoever got it over with quickest was the one I silently cheered for, I suppose. Though I'd never thought about what might come after that.

It turned out I didn't have to think. After the mini war, life quietly returned to normal - as though nothing had happened. My parents didn't even mention it, denying that it ever took place. I'd rather believe it didn't happen either, but does it really deserve to be denied? It was terrifying.

But beneath the bridge I found several mechanical parts... including what looked like a pair of bright red optic sensors... like a robot's eyes. I immediately fell to my knees to examine them. I knew it probably wasn't a good idea, but my curiosity as a mechanic overpowered my feelings of unrest.

I picked up one of the parts, which looked somewhat like a hand with severed circuits attached. It wasn't a nice, sharp slice either - it was like someone had taken a pair of preschool safety scissors to it. "Oh God..."

"Hey. Girl! I didn't call you over here for no reason."

The optics had lit up, and a voice had come from that direction which startled me. I fell backwards, landing awkwardly on my side, a grass stain on my cheek now. I pushed myself up and stared at the upper part of what looked to be a face, my blue eyes wide as I met the red ones. "Wh... What..."

"Are you just going to sit there, or are you going to fix me like a good little femme?"

I tried to right myself, but I just ended up crawling toward those hypnotic crimson eyes, set in a slightly rusted silver frame. "Who... Who are you?"

"I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. I trust you will put me together? You seem like the type to help those in need. And who is more in need than me now?"

"W-Well, I certainly..." I tried to stammer out.

"But mark this - if the word 'pity' passes your tongue, femme, I will not hesitate to rip you apart once you have put _me_ back together."

I swallowed. "M-My name is Stacie Woods, M-Megatron, sir. You... don't have to call me 'femme'."

"I will do as I wish. Reconstruct me! Several of my parts can be found in this river, though many may have floated away. No matter, you'll just have to build some replacements."

I took several breaths as I inched toward the damaged metal face. _This_ was Megatron? I was still in awe of that fact. If this was - and what was in the river - was all that was left of him, how was I supposed to patch him together? Like Humpty Dumpty? I wasn't that good. "B-But how am I supposed to make pieces? I don't have a shop, I wouldn't know where to look..."

"This is precisely what they have scrapyards for, my dear. You're a smart girl... you'll figure it out." The red eyes flashed dangerously. That told me I _better_ figure it out... or _else_. "Now... retrieve the parts from the river, then fetch the necessary tools to repair me."

I gulped and bent over the water, searching for dismantled robot parts. I felt my chest heave with my accelerated breathing, and I kept looking back at Megatron's eyes.

What had I gotten myself into just now?

* * *

><p><strong>Well... I hope I didn't confuse you with the change in characters, with both of them being first person POV.<strong>

**Oh yeah... and I'm sorry if Megatron seems a bit OOC, but considering this was the third time he was supposedly killed... he's probably been taken down a few pegs by now. *turns to her Autobots vs. Decepticons chart* He's lost HOW many times now? He's still demanding and all... he'll get better, back to his old, yelly, destructive self. Eventually. You know, once he goes through the HUMILIATION of having a "mortal femme" put him back together from tiny little pieces.**

**... Sounds fun, no? XD**

**So! Who do y'all like more so far? Aspen or Stacie? Autobots or Decepticons? I don't even know whose side I'm on, really. I love the Autobots because they're fighting to PROTECT the planet not DESTROY it. But hey, like that random guy from the third movie said, "the Decepticons get all the good shit!" Well, what he really said was "_Why_ do the Decepticons get all the good shit?" but I paraphrased! :D**

**Well... reviews are welcomed and appreciated AND loved. Suggest what you'd like to see more of, what parts you liked... I'll take all into consideration. I don't exactly know what direction this is going to take... I have a FEW parts planned but not everything... so if you'd like to help, by all means feel free! :)**

**Thanks for reading! Leave a review on your way out! ^^**


	2. My Heart Calls Out Loud

**Whoo! OK first of all... sorry I didn't have Megatron and Stacie in this chappie. I was going to try doing it like that every time, so that you'd get a picture of what was going on at each point from both sides. But this seemed like a good place to stop. Looks like the next one's going to be all about Megatron and Stacie. *shrug* Hey... kind of a win-win situation?**

**And oh yeah - I did mistake the number of times Megatron died. XD It WAS only twice. Oh well, looks like I need to watch the first 2 movies again. 8D**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>So far, I had been introduced to most of the Autobots - the ones that were still alive, anyway.<p>

There was Bumblebee, who had originally served as Sam's car and guardian. Cute little thing, it was really too bad he couldn't talk - according to Sam his vocal box and wires got damaged and now he talked through the radio of the car, selecting songs and clips of radio shows to communicate. I'd have to work on that, as a surprise for Sam.

Then there was Ratchet, who normally was the medic and all. In essence, I wouldn't have even _been_ there if Ratchet hadn't gotten damaged, because he would have been able to do his job. Nonetheless I was fascinated by him, and decided I'd have to talk to him frequently - he could help me repair the others. He had more knowledge of his race than I did, after all. And he seemed pretty cool anyway.

Next were Wheelie and Brains, who I'd been told were originally Decepticons but joined the better side of things. Adorable little bots - a lot smaller than all the others, but just as brave. Turned out Wheelie was the one who'd talked to me about _Star Trek_ earlier - I take no shame in the fact that I high-fived him when we met. They were pretty torn up, as they'd apparently _blown up a ship from the inside_. Needless to say I had a massive respect for the little guys after hearing that.

After that came Sideswipe, a huge robot, second in size only to Optimus... with wheels for feet. Cool, right? But that wasn't the best part. I kid you not - the guy had _blades_ for hands! Tell me that's not awesome. It was like mecha Edward Scissorhands, just not as... well, yeah, not as peaceful. He told me he loves battle but hates war. Deep enough for me? Hell yeah. I didn't quite know what to say when he told me that, except to nod lamely and quietly agree.

Then I met the Wreckers: Leadfoot, Roadbuster, and Topspin. Their, uh, collective name was enough to make me shy away a bit, but Sam just shoved me toward them, not giving me a chance to refuse. They were actually pretty decent, although I think it was Leadfoot who stole my ponytail holder. They played keep-away with it for a few minutes before giving it back, as I was jumping around for it like a little grasshopper. So I guess they granted mercy on me.

At last, I was "introduced" to the remains of a 'Bot named Ironhide - the weapons specialist of the group. Unlike the others who'd been killed, most of Ironhide's parts were still intact, and he'd just been killed in the most recent battle. Most of the others, I understood, had been killed long ago. What had once been Ironhide, a powerful Autobot and apparently one of the most well-liked... it was just a pile of machinery now.

I got a little emotional, I guess. Leaving Sam and Carly, I walked slowly toward the metal parts that, just probably a week ago, had held the soul of what was to everyone in this room a dear friend. I leaned down and carefully picked up a part from the heap, and it looked like it had been part of a chest plate. I could feel the camaraderie that all of them felt for him, and I felt the love that was still in these pieces, the love that each one of these Autobots had left as they had picked up the remains of their friend.

It was all too much for me. I fell forward, landing on my knees before the pile of metal parts. I let my forehead fall against the fragment of protector, the cool metal against my skin an attempt at trying to see what Ironhide had been like, trying to experience what they all felt towards him.

Emotion swelled up in my chest - some happy, some depressing, but all of it just completely overwhelming. I felt everyone's eyes on me as my entire body shook and a drop of water splashed the ground below. More tears slowly fell to stain the concrete, as I leaned forward, closer to the remains, and just clutched the cold piece of metal, pressing against it.

"Oh God," I cried, squeezing my eyes shut. "Oh God, oh God, bless his soul. Our Father Who art in heaven, grant peace for those who remain in the wake of devastation..." I broke off in more tears before I could finish. "No, no, _no_!" I lowered the plate and held it in my lap, placing one hand on the floor to steady myself. "It's not _fair_! I can tell... you all loved him! _Why_?"

I felt something touch my back, another piece of metal - this one was warm, signifying life. A series of sad chirps and a clip of, _"There's nothing we can do now"_ from a radio broadcast told me it was Bumblebee.

A shadow fell over me, and I looked up now, to see Optimus standing over both of us. I could see that he was devastated too, just reinforcing how much Ironhide had meant to everyone. "Bumblebee is right, Miss Aspen." His eyes didn't focus on me, but I didn't care. "Ironhide fought well, and sacrificed himself for the safety of Earth. He was an honorable comrade, a great friend, and he made us all proud, but... there is nothing more we can do."

I sobbed a few more times, rubbing my wrist across my eyes. Then I placed the plate back on the pile, and stood up with Bee's help. "Look... everyone, I want everyone to listen to me for a second. I may just be a human, and I may not have known Ironhide, but hell if I don't know exactly how you feel, and damn it all if I don't have an idea."

They all fell silent; even Sam and Carly stared at me, wanting to know what I was thinking.

I looked at everyone in turn, then back down at the remains of their comrade and friend. "With everybody's permission, I'd like to take Ironhide to a different room, and at least put his body back together. We ought to give him a proper funeral for all he did. He deserves it."

"_She's right, men,"_ Bee said through the radio.

I saw Optimus nod his head, as Bee continued to rub my back. "Yes... she is. What do you say, everyone? Let us honor our friend like the hero he was."

I scanned the room, and smiled bitterly when I saw no hint of opposition to the idea. "Great. Who wants to help get the parts to a room?"

When I looked around I saw that all of them had stepped forward, ready to give me a hand. I smiled, bending down to gather what I could. "I promise you, everybody, he'll look just like you remember him. I promise... I'm gonna give him the best damn funeral I can."

I walked next to Bee as we carried the parts to a nearby storage room, which I would later red-tape off as "ENTER AT YOUR OWN DAMN RISK". Bee was obviously still sad, as he wasn't even talking now. Just playing a full song, not just one part.

"_The world seems not the same_

_Though I know nothing has changed_

_It's all my state of mind_

_I can't leave it all behind_

_Have to stand up to be stronger_

_Have to try_

_To break free from the thoughts in my mind_

_Use the time that I have_

_I can't say good-bye_

_Have to make it right_

_Have to fight_

'_Cause I know in the end it's worthwhile_

_That the pain that I feel_

_Slowly fades away_

_It will be alright..."_

I wrenched a hand free, managing not to drop anything, and placed my hand on Bee's arm. "I know, Bee. I just... get it."

* * *

><p><strong>Super sad... I got the idea when I was staring at pictures of Spock and Sentinel Prime, wondering how the hell somebody so awesome (Leonard Nimoy) could be the voice of someone who was such an asshole. (Okay well, Spock WAS sometimes, but not as bad as Sentinel.)<strong>

**XD No, didn't. I was looking at pictures of Ironhide and got all sad. So I had to have Aspen do something for him. Can anybody guess what's REALLY going to happen? Lulz. You won't know till I write it!**

**... If you read, please review. It's the only way I know how well I'm doing, what people like and don't like. Thanks to those who reviewed last chapter, hoping to have even more this chapter!**

**Thanks for reading! ^^**


	3. Nowhere to Be Found

I plunged my hand into the water, letting out a slight shriek when I discovered that it was ice-cold. I groaned, but bore it as I slid my hand around, looking for anything solid in the water and in the dirt floor below. I couldn't push my hair back, but there wasn't a lot I could do at the minute. My hand was wet and covered with mud, and I doubted Megatron would do it for me even _if_ he wasn't in pieces. But then again, if he wasn't in pieces, then I wouldn't have been in this situation.

I felt something and pulled it out, tossing it onto the grass. I stared at it, and I saw Megatron's laser-like crimson eyes flicker over to it. I took a breath, wiping my palm on the grass. "That wouldn't happen to be the other half of your forehead, would it?" I asked quietly.

"Keep looking, femme. There are more."

"Alright." I put my hand back into the water, shivering at the temperature once again. I went deeper, clawing at the slimy algae-covered floor as I groped around for anything that wasn't a rock. "So, um... is there anyone else you want me to put together? After I've finished with you?"

He was silent for a minute, and I thought I'd just made him mad. Finally though, he answered me. His voice had gotten softer, not as rough, which surprised me a little bit. "Starscream. I don't care if you fix the others, or even if you locate them - find Starscream and repair him."

I nodded mutely, pulling another piece of metal out of the mud. "Oh yuck." I placed it beside the other one. "I think that's the other hand. Do you have any idea where Starscream might be?"

"Somewhere in this city."

"Okay." I hit another part and pulled it out. "Well, this looks like part of a chest plate." I laid it with the others. "My God, these are so rusted. I'll have to clean them off. Lucky this river goes slow or it'd all be washed away by now..." I glanced back at Megatron, whose eyes looked like he was either sleeping or sulking. Both? "Hey. Why don't you tell me about Starscream? It'll pass the time quicker."

For about a minute, I didn't hear anything from him, as I fished for more of his body. At last I heard an audible sigh from him. "He is... difficult to explain. He's... contradictory."

"How so?" My heart beat fast against my ribs, marveling at the sheer ease with which I was speaking to him. I was terrified and yet I was making small talk with a death-battle robot. _I'm going crazy. I'm insane._

"Why should I even tell you anything? You're just going to use it against me - that's how all humans are. You can't trust any of them."

"I'm not the kind of person to do that. We're not _all_ bad, you know... just because you think we're disgusting." I flipped another piece down by the others, and I saw that the grass beneath was soaked. "Servo."

"..." He was being quiet, and I was scared now. After all, he still _literally_ had a mouth; he could bite if he wanted to. "We are very different."

"You and me, or you and Starscream?"

"The latter."

"Tell me how you're different."

"Must I repeat myself? I see no reason why I should even be speaking to you."

I pulled out another servo and added it to the heap. "Would you rather just sit here, knowing there's somebody else who's willing to talk but you decided on awkward silence?"

I heard him sigh again, and this time it sounded more... weary. Like he was tired of the world and of everything having to do with it. "It has been... so long... since I've had a true conversation with someone. I... wouldn't remember how to do it. The last person I've ever seriously spoken to was blasted Optimus Prime, years ago on Cybertron."

"I guess we saw how that turned out." My other hand joined my first, so now I was up to _both_ my elbows in water, kelp, and muck. "But I don't judge. Call me anything you want. Go ahead, I won't be offended."

"Unintelligent human femme. Disgusting race, all of you. You think you know everything, when in reality you know nothing at all. Now, the Cybertronians, and us Decepticons in particular - _ours_ was a race to be envied."

"I'm listening. Please, do go on."

A brief silence encompassed the area for a moment, save the blow of the wind, before he continued. When he did, his voice sounded much more... melancholy than it had just a minute before. "We are more powerful than anything you humans will ever hope to create. And yet... I have been defeated twice. In place of this second defeat would have been... humiliation... had I not taken down Sentinel Prime."

I idly wondered if this Sentinel Prime had any connection with the Optimus Prime he'd mentioned earlier, but I didn't feel like pressing it. Both of them obviously made him angry, why fuel it? "Humiliation isn't always so bad. You get over it."

"You would know nothing about this, femme."

"I would. I've been humiliated enough times. Do you think it feels good being called a geek? A loser? Ugly? And in front of everyone you're trying so hard to impress?"

He gave me a mirthless chuckle in response. "You are not unattractive. You looked upon my visage, I am the broken one at the moment. Once you repair me, our roles will be reversed and you _shall_ be the ugly one. As for now, I know the feeling better."

I was about to retort when I suddenly heard a loud, mechanical-sounding squawk above me. I shrieked and lost my balance, tumbling into the water. It was shallow, so I was just sitting, but that didn't mean it was pleasant. Shocked, I attempted to shake the water off my arms and hair as I looked up. A metal bird-type creature was circling above us - an ally of Megatron's? "What in the world..."

Megatron's eyes followed my gaze and his optics brightened even more when he saw the creature. "Laserbeak. How nice of you to join me."

It landed on the grass right in front of the stream, fluttering its robotic wings. The thing smirked at me - _smirked!_ - before replying.

"Sorry, Master. Lost my head for a bit."

* * *

><p><strong>OMG I love that last line. Laserbeak's such a bastard isn't he? XD But he makes for funny and unexpected. And GASP. How did HE get repaired? Guess you'll have to read and find out...<strong>

**ALSO. For those who asked what the song was that Bee played last chapter, it's called "Pale" and it's by the group Within Temptation. One of my favorite songs... MWAHAHA.**

**Hope you enjoy, and reviews are totally awesome! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, and to those who read and plan on reviewing! You are much loved! ^^**


	4. Emotions Tied and Bound

**OK, first of all: I'M SO SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG. I got on several kicks at once, it's been hectic, school sucks, and... life keeps getting in my way!**

**Second, thanks to EVERYONE who's reviewed so far:**

**Autobotally45, Random Reader (teehee), EthanPrime21, Alexandria514, Cookie46, Quirkyquizler16 (BTW, sorry about the error with Epps... couldn't remember his name so I just called him a random guy, that's what I do XD), kaaayyyttee, Christine Jay, ZeeDraGon, SaneFangirl, StarScreacher, justiceintheworldofhp-yearight, itachigirl250, and ESPECIALLY Pammi. ^^ You guys keep me writing, thank you!**

**Hmm, I think Aspen's part may be a little longer than Stacie's...**

**HEY. Who wants me to sometime write in Optimus's and/or Megatron's POV? :D *is excited because just like Aspen she's going to do what she wants whether people want her to or not***

**Hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

><p>I looked at the pieces that had once been Ironhide, and shook my head. The whole time we'd been transporting him, Bee had not talked, just played sad music. We had been treated to "Haunted" by Taylor Swift, "Angels" by Within Temptation, "Savin' Me" by Nickelback... by the time we were done I wanted to plop myself down on the floor and just <em>cry like hell<em>. Only thing keeping me from doing just that was the fact that I'd already done that, and everyone would think I was crazy if I did it again.

I stared for a few more seconds, before closing the door, locking it, and writing _DO NOT ENTER_ on it with a Sharpie I'd pulled out of my pocket. "Alright," I said lowly, turning to face the others.

For some reason my voice... didn't quite sound like _mine_. I had never been this angry before, and I hadn't even known Ironhide. How mad would I have been if I _did_?

"I wanna know who did this to my boy. I'm gonna rip him apart with a wrench - I will take him apart, piece by piece, bolt by bolt, until he's screaming for me to stop... no, no, not screaming... _begging_ for mercy. And then, I'm gonna rebuild him, I'm gonna offer a sincere and heartfelt apology, and then _I'm gonna do it all over again_."

Everyone just looked at me for a few seconds. Then the current song Bee was playing stopped, and he spoke up. _"Beat you to it."_

"Who?" I clenched my fist. "Who was the bastard that killed my boy?"

"His name," Optimus answered, metaphorically stepping forward without actually moving, "was Sentinel Prime."

"Was." I nodded, pressing my back against the door. "Good, then he's already been killed. _God_, I wish I could have seen whoever pounded the fudge out of-"

"It was me," Optimus interrupted. The tone of his voice had changed from before. He now sounded far more... sad. Reflective. Like he thought killing this Sentinel guy was a mistake. "I fought against him... he nearly did me in, before Megatron killed him."

"So, wait..." I jerked my thumb back at the door. "The same _magnificent bastard_ who killed Ironhide... was the one who ripped _your_ arm off?"

"Yes."

I clenched my fists, pressing my back against the door. "That's it. That is fucking _it_." I stalked past everyone, leading them back to where we had come from. "I am going to bring this asshole _back from the dead_ just to whoop his ass. I am going to beat him _with a rusty lead pipe_ and take him apart _with a plastic coat hanger_."

"_Not a good idea,"_ Bee told me, catching up. _"He'd kill you."_

I sighed, raking my fingers through my hair. "Fine. Fine, I'll leave the poor asshole in his grave. But I'll be damned if he stays still, he'll be rolling over _constantly_ with how I'm going to curse him out."

I pushed through the doors to the main room, then looked down as Wheelie and Brains came over to my feet. I rolled my eyes before bending down to pick them up, one in each hand. "What do you two want, Wheels?"

"Hey." Wheelie blinked a few times. "Just don't worry about the old man, alright? He ain't worth it, babe. Trust me."

I looked at everyone and nodded, putting Wheelie back down. "Well... since I can't start actual repairs till tomorrow, let's play a little game called _Car Wash_." I grinned, trying to bring back the upbeat tone we'd had before we discussed Ironhide. "I will not have my 'Bots anything less than sparkling. No offense, but it looks like nobody's bothered to clean you since the last battle. So we're gonna make you all _shine_."

I pointed at Sam. "Water! Soap! Sponge!" Then at Carly. "I'm dying of thirst, would you mind getting me a drink please?"

She giggled while Sam rolled his eyes. "So she gets asked nicely, while _I_ get ordered around like a slave?"

I shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a fickle girl. Not to mention, you didn't trust me at first."

"Yeah, but-"

Ignoring him, I whirled around to face my 'Bots. "So who wants to get hosed down first?"

"_Oh boy, pick me, teacher! Pick me!"_ Bee chirped, using some clip of a little boy's voice.

I snickered, then clapped my hands. "Okay, let's get to it, people! I'm gonna make y'all so shiny I'll be able to see myself in your bodies! Like a _mirror_."

Bee cheered. Optimus gave me an amused smile. Wheelie and Brains did their best to high-five. Ratchet sighed. Sideswipe pumped his blades in the air. (Like he just didn't care, tee-hee. And he probably didn't.) The Wreckers gave each other chest plate bumps.

This was why, about twenty or so minutes later, I was shaking my little booty on a ladder while cleaning Optimus - just rocking out to Bee's radio which was now playing all high-energy partying songs. I was also singing along loudly. "_Oh I'm so excited! And I just can't fight it!_" I belted out. I motioned for Bee to hold up the bucket, and I wet my sponge before continuing to clean Optimus.

I'd already washed Bee, and he was so happy he used a clip to tell me - much to my amusement - _"Girl, I could just kiss you! I mean, I REALLY could just kiss you! Can I kiss you, baby?"_ Uhm, yeah... my face was pretty red after that. (And I told Bee no, he couldn't kiss me, but I appreciated the sentiment.)

"_I'm about to lose control and I think I like it!_" I continued, much to the disdain of the Wreckers. They complained that though they liked me, my voice was loud, distracting, and obnoxious. And you know what? They were absolutely right. But the real question was, did I care? And that answer was a big fat no.

I struck a pose for the last note and leaned in to inspect my work. "Ah! I think I'm almost done. If I could just get to your face, I think we'd be all set." I took a few steps up the ladder. "Hey Bee, what's our next song?" I called as he let me dip my sponge in again.

Almost immediately after I asked, "We R Who We R" began to play. I grinned and flung the sponge arm out. "Aw yeah, my girl Ke$ha!" I instantly realized that I'd just flicked a full sponge of water at Optimus, and looked over shyly. Yup. Water all over his face. Mine turned red _again_. "Uhh... sorry about that. I get a little excited when it comes to music."

He gave me a smile. I was getting rather used to his smile already; it was gentle and caring, with a certain quality I'd never seen in any human smile. I didn't know what it was, but I didn't really care. It made me feel lifted, like I was a part of something bigger than just me. Like someone actually cared that I was trying to help. "It's alright. It's a less conventional way of getting clean, yes?"

I grinned. "Got that right! Crank up the tunes, Bee!" He did, and I proceeded to keep singing. "_Got that glitter on my eyes! Stockings ripped all up the side! Lookin' sick and sexy-fied! So let's go-o-o... let's go! Tonight we're goin' hard-hard, ha-ha-ha-hard! Just like the world is our-our o-o-o-ours_-"

"Hey lass, how about shuttin' yer mouth a bit?" Leadfoot called over to me, sounding _quite_ irritated.

"Hey jerkface, how about kissin' my ass?" I retorted, wiping my sponge over Optimus's cheek.

Hehe. Be damned if that didn't shut them up. Because, hint: very few people took that invitation.

* * *

><p>I still sat, rather shell-shocked, in the river, covered in mud and water and staring at that... that <em>thing<em> that had just flown down. My eyes were wide, just gawking at that metal bird... Laserbeak, didn't Megatron call him?

He craned his neck to look at me, getting a little closer to my face. Still about a foot away, but still. For someone who didn't regularly associate with these creatures, it took a bit of getting used to. "So, Master, who is... _this_ pretty thing? She's a human, yes?"

Still too freaked out to speak, I continued to try shrinking away from this Laserbeak thing. "U-Uh... um... ahh..." I couldn't even form a coherent sentence. I'm hopeless in the face of fear.

"She is a mechanic," Megatron finished for me, since obviously I wasn't talking well enough. "Close enough, anyway. She has agreed to repair me."

My heart sunk just a little, and I hurriedly went back to looking in the river. _Yet you don't bother to remember my name? That I just told you five minutes ago and I keep reminding you of it?_

"Ohh, indeed?" Laserbeak cackled. "That was how Starscream and I were brought back. Of course, I had to off him after he finished with us..."

I froze, then quickly spun my top half around to face the bird. "Starscream? You mean he's been put back together?"

I inched away from both Laserbeak's and Megatron's glares. (Well, Laserbeak wasn't so much glaring as giving me an amused/confused look.) Whoops, maybe I shouldn't have spoken? It was a free country - not that they probably cared. But still, I should be able to talk and ask an innocent, genuinely concerned question without having to worry about getting my head blown off...

I guess Megatron chose to ignore me for the moment, because he tore his gaze away from my face and looked back at Laserbeak. "Starscream... is alive then?"

"Oh yes, Master," he squawked, taking his attention off me as well. He did seem quite fond of that, didn't he? Going "yes, Master" at every opportunity. "My, but he barely survived with his soul."

Megatron was quiet for a moment or two, then... "Is he well?"

Laserbeak idly flapped his metal wings a few times. I honestly thought he was going to say "yes, Master" again, but no. "Afraid not, Master. He's weak... fading. He survived, I said, but the 'barely' part may be catching up with him... fast."

I heard a loud gasp, and then I realized that it had been me. I almost fell back again. Was he saying what it sounded like he was saying? Oh God, no... "H-He's dying?" I managed to choke out.

Laserbeak gave me a solemn gaze. "Yes, femme."

I hung my head and took a shaky, sobbing breath, trying not to cry. "T-Tomorrow," I said softly, not looking up. "C-Can you bring him here? Laserbeak?"

"Hmm. I think I may be able to. What did you have in mind?"

"I'll let you know when I think of it." I pulled myself out of the water and let out a trembling sigh. "I'm just going to see what, if anything, I can do. I don't have a definite plan."

"Tsk, not planning ahead. Silly humans. I will bring him, femme." He flapped his wings again, and this time he actually leapt up off the rock. "I should return to him. A word of advice, however... to both of you. I don't believe that anything short of the AllSpark will save him. And we know what happened to _that_, don't we, Master?"

Megatron grumbled, it sounded like, then his optics flashed. "Leave now, Laserbeak. Go to him."

"As you wish, Master. I will return tomorrow with Starscream. Good-bye, little human femme." He turned tail (so to speak) and flew off.

I took a step toward that direction. "My _name_ is Stacie!"

I didn't get a response, but whatever. Like I wanted one from _him_? I stepped off the river bank and shook off a little. "Um... I need to get home. I'll go to the scrapyard early tomorrow, then I'll come here. Um... I promise?"

"Leave me, femme... I must be alone to process."

I wasn't sure if he meant, like, the mech processes or processing that Starscream was dying, but I didn't want to stick around and find out. I turned around and took a few steps. "Good-bye... see you tomorrow, I guess."

"Femme... Stacie... wait."

I stopped, my necklace thumping against my chest. He... He called me by name instead of just "femme"? Finally... "Y-Yes?"

"You... will not allow Starscream to go offline indefinitely... will you?"

My heart pounded, and I felt tears burning my eyes. "I'll... try my best not to let him die."

"You will return."

Was that... a hint of uncertainty in his voice? Like he really doubted that I'd come back.

"I will."

* * *

><p><strong>Oooh, will Starscream live? What's going on with Aspen's intense emotions? Is Stacie going to develop that weak backbone of hers and maybe talk back to one of the Decepticons? Will the Wreckers ever leave Aspen alone, stop stealing her hair ties, and quit trying to make her stop singing?<strong>

**Ummm, why am I asking my readers? That's... yeah. Shows a bit of non planning ness on my part.**

**And isn't it AWESOME that Aspen's already calling them "my' Bots" and referring to Ironhide as "my boy"? Hehe, I thought it was cute, she's the kind of person who gets all vindictive if you mess with her friends. And apparently she already considers them her friends, yay!**

**OK, random Transformers question of the chapter: Who do you like better, Ironhide or Ratchet? Why?**

**My answer: Personally I have a bit of a crush on both of them, but I like Ratchet just a LITTLE better because he's a doctor/medic person. But I still love Ironhide. *huggles both of them***

**Review with your answers AND what you thought of the chapter! Thanks for reading, guys! ^^**


	5. Dreaming, It's Seeming

**WHEEE~ I'm on a roll with Transformers. I don't know why. I've been talking about it with some of my friends, and one of them says she likes Optimus but her absolute favorite is Bumblebee. I told her I liked the part where Bee talked at the very end of the first movie, and she was like "Oh yeah, that was really cute!"**

**... Then our government teacher gave us work to do. Oh well, it's a good thing he's a cool teacher, like my English teacher and UN-like my science teacher. -_-;**

**Well, hope you guys enjoy! Huh, I think Megatron and Stacie's part was actually longer this time... oh well! I still hope you like it! (Autobots rule!)**

* * *

><p>"Come on! I'm gonna kill you if you don't get in there!"<p>

"You know what, you're my _little_ sister! I don't have to listen to you, and for God's sake let me go!"

"No way! They need your help and you got the damn clearance, so if you waste all that work I just did convincing them to let you in, I'll take a wrench to your _head_!"

"I don't wanna go into that room with a bunch of alien freaks who are probably gonna look at me like-"

"They're not freaks, and you're goin' in there!"

Finally I managed to drag my brother, the electrician, into the room where my 'Bots were. It was the next day, finally, so we could start repairs. I had my tool box, so dragging my brother Mike into the room wasn't exactly easy... I was just lucky he hadn't eaten breakfast yet or _I'd_ be the one getting dragged through the door... the other way.

I pushed the doors open, waving the hand that carried my tools at everyone in the room. "Good morning, Autobots! How was everybody's night, hmm?"

Bee was the first to say hi, nearly tackling me in a hug. He chirped happily and just about picked me up. _"Princess, Princess!"_ he cried. _"We missed ya!"_

I laughed, holding on for my life. Not that I didn't trust him, but he was easily excitable. "Bee! I missed you too, Bee!" I poked my foot at his chest. "Uh... can you let me down now?"

"_Hey, sure, sure, babe."_ He let go of me, forgetting that he was at least sixteen feet taller than I was.

"Bee!" I shrieked. "Two-story drop! _HEEELP_!"

"_Whoa!"_ Bee grabbed me and carefully set me down. _"Oh man, I'm really sorry about that, babe, you forgive me?"_

I grinned and dusted myself off. "I'm fine, it's okay. You didn't mean it." I reached up and high-fived him. "Besties!"

"Hey hey, I thought _we_ were besties?" Wheelie called, prodding at my foot.

"We are! A girl can have more than one bestie, can't she?"

"Hmmph. I'll agree to that... as, uh... as long as you smuggle some _Star Trek_ in here? I'm dyin' to find out what happens in _Generation_."

"I thought you saw them all?"

"Nah, nah, I just saw all the original ones. The forums on the Web, they say _Generation_ is even better, but I haven't seen any of it yet."

I snorted. "You know _Generation_ doesn't have Spock in it, right?"

"Kiddin' me! Slag it, they replaced him?"

"Well... there's Captain Picard, Deanna Troi, Beverly Crusher, Worf... love him, by the way, he's a Klingon... Data, who is just adorable and almost repeats this funny but dirty limerick at one point... uhhh... Wesley... and a bunch of others. It's actually pretty good, I think you'd like it."

"Really. Mind bringin' it in?"

"Yeah, I'll see what I can do... we'll have to watch it while I patch you up."

"Great! I can't wait for it, babe."

I rolled my eyes, grabbing Mike's hand because he was trying to escape, then I dragged him over to Optimus. "Great. I have _two_ Autobots calling me 'babe' now. Who's next? Ratchet, _you_ got anything to say?"

"I'd rather not add my input, Aspen."

"Uh-huh, that's what I thought. Leadfoot, Roadbuster, Topspin?"

"Keep yer yap shut, Aspie."

"Aww Leadfoot, if you love me, why don't you just say so, _hmmmmmm_, sugar-bot?"

"Love _you_! That'd be the day. You're annoyin' as hell!"

"Okay, I'm _so_ not fixing _you_."

"Hey!"

"Leadfoot's the only one I'm not fixing, Leadfoot's the only one I'm not fixing," I sang out, towing my brother over to Optimus. "Okay! Mike, this is the leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime. He's awesome." I looked up at Optimus. "Optimus, this is my older brother Mike. He's... eh."

I turned to see Mike glaring at me, even though Optimus was chuckling. "Oh, yeah? Your own flesh and blood gets _eh_, and the freaky alien robot gets _awesome_?"

"I already told you they're not freaks!" I held up my toolbox. "You wanna know how much this weighs? If you don't keep your mouth shut your teeny tiny brain's gonna find out! Not to mention, I'll hot-glue your lips together."

"You won't if you want my expertise." He smacked my hand away from where it was holding his arm. "So... where am I replacing wires?"

"Well, if you'll direct your attention to _the arm he's missing_," I hissed.

"Uh, right." He squinted up at the injury. "So, you want me to fix all the wires, _and_ weld together the old ones? Is that even possible? Seriously, they're different circuits. This isn't like playing Barbies, you know - I don't think I can mix and match here. I can either weld together the old ones, or create completely new circuits for his arm. Which would you like me to do?"

I blinked, then looked up at my 'Bot friend. "What do you think, Optimus? Do you wanna keep your old wires or get some new ones?"

He made a movement that was probably akin to a shrug. "I trust your judgment, Aspen. Choose whatever you believe is best."

"Hmm." I jumped up, as if that would help me see. "Well, I did say those wires were nasty, didn't I?" I blew out a breath. "I just don't see where it would be of any advantage to you, Optimus. The circuits are all frayed and sliced all to hell, and then even if we weld them, there's always the threat of spontaneous combustion because of the wiring..."

Optimus nodded to me. "Very well." He looked down at my brother. "Michael, I would appreciate it if you would replace the circuits completely."

"Alright." Mike rubbed the back of his neck. "I think I need to talk to somebody about getting a welding torch, get some of the experts here to help me out making circuits... shouldn't take too long to create and replace 'em, I don't think..."

My eyes were wide as I stared up at Optimus. Uh, wow! Had he really just decided that based on what _I_ had said? Nobody ever thought I knew what the hell I was talking about, and it was crazy to think that I already had his trust. "Do... Do you really think that much of _my_ opinion, Optimus?"

He looked down at me, and blinked his optics a few times. "Of course. I trust that you know what is the right choice. You seem intelligent, and the reading I get from you is not that of someone who would betray those precious to you."

I smiled. "Thanks... that really means something, you know...?" I blew out a breath, looking over at Mike, then back up at Optimus. "So, uh, it looks like you'll be all set here. I really wanna start repairs on the others, but... I, um, I feel like I have to start... you know... working on 'Hide for a little bit."

He nodded again. "Understandable. None of us blame you for that, I assure you. I talked to the others last night... we all agree that what you are doing for Ironhide is admirable, and shows a strong connection with us already." He gave me a smile back, the gentle, sort of all-knowing look encompassing his sharp features. "They, as well as I, think you seem like a very nice young woman."

I grinned up at him, flicking my ponytail over my shoulder and nodding almost deviously. (Yes, I describe myself that way.) "I always do at first."

* * *

><p>Oh boy. Oh boy, oh boy, <em>oh man<em>.

I almost couldn't believe myself. Seriously, who steals from a scrapyard? Really - who _does_ that?

Me, apparently.

Yeah, I'm a pathetic person. I snuck into the scrapyard in town, really early in the morning, and looked around very quietly. I made sure I didn't go anywhere near the monitor, lest I alert him to my presence. I was there for maybe an hour, till I found a few pieces I could use.

They rattled a little as I left, but luckily the monitor was too busy dealing with an actual paying customer. I managed to leave with four pieces of meetal that I thought I might be able to use in rebuilding Megatron. They might be useful, but maybe not.

Why had I stolen them? I'd never done anything like that before. It was just that Megatron really wanted me to fix him... and I didn't have a whole lot of money to buy the metal needed. What I had went toward food and rent and all that. Surprisingly, being an online automotive technology consultant didn't exactly rake in the cash.

... Okay, so maybe that isn't all too surprising.

I stopped off at home to grab my toolbox, hoping I could fix Starscream. If this was the last hope Megatron had for some will to live... I had to do _something_. Even if it didn't work... if I did nothing Starscream would die. If he died, Megatron would treat me even worse, probably. But I couldn't just... let him die. It was obvious he meant so much to Megatron.

It was hard to run with so much metal weighing me down, but I did it. I ran back to the river bank where I knew Megatron was. And Laserbeak, he might be there too, but when would he bring Starscream? Would it be soon, or maybe after lunchtime? Maybe it would be at night, under the cover of darkness.

... I know... I've got to stop reading so many spy novels.

To my shock, it appeared that Laserbeak had already brought Starscream. There was another black, massive robot there, lying at least eighteen feet across the ground. I could already see that the red optics were faded, and as little as I knew about these aliens, I knew _that_ couldn't be good. It was probably akin to that blank, glassy look dying people get in their eyes.

I jogged over to them and put my tools and the metal down on the grass. "This... This is Starscream, then?"

"Starscream," Megatron repeated. "Forgive me, my friend... all I've said to you. You have never truly failed me..."

I looked over at Laserbeak, who was perched on the same rock he'd been on yesterday. "How did you get him here?" I asked in awe. Really! How did you transport something that big without a helicopter or something?

He smirked at me, as he seemed so fond of doing. Playing with me. "It wasn't easy, and again I had to kill some fleshlings... but what are the lives of a few weak humans compared to a mighty Cybertronian?" He craned his neck. "Have you an answer to that, femme? Is your race more important, hmm?"

I swallowed thickly, then knelt next to Starscream's head. "You are Starscream...? Yes?"

His breathing was heavy, I could tell - almost as if it hurt him just to take in air, or whatever he was getting from the air. "Human... femme... disgusting... race..." he managed to rasp at me, optics flashing a bit.

Wow. This was like how Megatron had been yesterday, insulting and snarling and just all-around mean. Were all Decepticons like this? I reached out toward his cheek. "I just want to help you, Starscream..."

My fingers hadn't even made contact when he shuddered violently, almost as if trying to recoil from me. "Don't you touch me, femme...!"

Immediately I pulled my hand back, clutching it to my chest with the other. Of course all Decepticons considered us humans trash, something that needed to be disposed of - did I truly expect any more than that? But even Megatron, who seemed to be the nastiest of them all, had not told me, especially in such a manner, that I couldn't touch him. He'd allowed me that. Was this how Starscream always was, or was this contemptuous attitude simply because he knew he was dying?

"Starscream," Megatron spoke up. "She is the one who will help us now. She is going to fix you... don't be so picky when you are in need of help. We are all in need now, we must... _trust_... this human. I know it is such a different thing, to need help, but we are all in the same situation. She must touch you to help you... I know it is repulsive concept, but do not turn from her touch."

I heard Starscream sigh heavily, then his dull crimson eyes flickered to me, almost meeting mine. There was a quiet trembling, as if he were trying to move. That didn't seem like a wise decision in my opinion, but far be it from me to reprimand a giant robot from space. "Femme..." His voice had changed, much gentle now and... and almost scared. (Can Decepticons even get scared, honestly?) He knew he needed help, but oh... the poor thing didn't know who he could trust anymore. "H... Help me."

I nodded, placing my palm against his cheek. It was cold, unlike a living robot ought to be. I had touched Megatron once, before Laserbeak had come yesterday... he was a lot warmer than Starscream's metal felt. "You're so cold," I whispered, tears already spilling down my face. They were hot and fast, but at the same time incredibly slow. "I-I'll help, but I mean... I'm not sure how much I can do, just... oh, Starscream..."

He sighed again, but this time it sounded more... relaxed. Almost as if he was feeling something pleasant. "Femme..." he muttered. "Your touch... very warm... so comfortable..."

Wait... was he talking about my hand against his skin? - or, or metal? I'd always been told, when I touched someone's arm, that my hands were freezing. Too bad I'd never been the type to go up behind someone and grab their neck while asking _Hey, is this cold?_

I looked down and, through my tears, I could see a slight reddish tinge coming to the metal where my fingers touched it, spreading across his entire body. "Wh... What?" Frightened but not wanting to pull my hand away if it was comforting to him, I snapped my head up to Laserbeak and Megatron. "What's... What's going on?"

"His Energon," Laserbeak murmured, flying over. "It looks like it's coming back."

"E-Energon?" I was totally confused.

"Looks like his spark's started going again too," Laserbeak continued, flapping his wings. "Going full electric again. I think that's what's happening..."

I quickly pulled my hand away; _my_ breathing was labored now. I looked in Starscream's eyes, and to my shock they were a lot brighter than they'd been a few minutes ago. "S... Starscream...? How, um... how are you feeling?"

"Much better," he breathed, and this time he moved a little. It was like everything in his body simultaneously twitched, and he moved his arm. It nearly hit me, but I managed to jump back. "My spark, it is pulsing faster again. I feel...stronger. Like my own self. I did not feel like myself before... before you touched me, femme. What have you done? Was there something in your hand?"

I shook my head slowly, staring down at my palm. It didn't look so much different, but if I wasn't deluding myself... it was redder than it had been. A darker pinkish color, whereas my palms were usually stark white. "I... I don't know. I have no idea what I just did. I-I wasn't holding anything..." I swallowed my fear down past the lump in my throat. "Are you okay?"

"Yes... much better than that." He tried to move again, but it seemed difficult and he groaned. "Slag... I'm stiff from how long I've not been moving." He looked at me, blinking. "Femme. I'm in need of oil. Do you possess any?"

"I think I have some. I, um... I'll get my toolbox and see." I ran over to where my toolbox was and dragged it over, getting to my knees. "I didn't... I-I mean... I didn't hurt you, did I? I-I'm so sorry..."

"On the contrary, femme." His mechanical voice had gained back some of that growling edge, but it was soft at the same time. "I have not felt this strong, this complete, in quite some time. You are sure you've no knowledge of what you did?"

"I-I don't think so... nothing like that's ever happened before." I pulled out a can of oil, finally, and closed my box. "Although, I've never met a dying robotic alien before either. So maybe... there's something I'm missing." I displayed the oil can to him. "Where do you need it, Starscream?"

"Oh... everywhere," he answered, with just the slightest undertone of humor in his voice. (Because "humor" is the closest thing a Decepticon can get. These guys, they don't joke.)

"Okay, I'll get started." I began up toward where it seemed to me his neck was.

As I was bending down to work, I heard him speak again. "Femme, tell me... what do others call you?"

I smiled just a little - that's all I allowed myself. "My name's Stacie Woods."

"Stacie." It sounded almost foreign coming from his voice - not at all natural or easy. "I will keep that in my memory processor."

* * *

><p><strong>D'aww, Starscream, you old soft serve.<strong>

**Huh. We didn't really see a lot of Megatron interaction in this one. BUT that was only because Starscream had to be here.**

**DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? WHY IS STARSCREAM ALIVE? WHAT DID STACIE DO? OH MY GOD, I'm asking you guys all the questions I should be answering again. Sorry bout that.**

**Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading and POSSIBLY *wink wink* reviewing! ^^**


	6. I'm Living a Lie

**AH HAHAHA. MY TRIUMPHANT RETURN! BEHOLD THE GLORY OF JETFIRE!**

**Uhh, wait... *checks script* Uh, yeah, wrong line. My bad. I just love saying that. And "bollocks". Tee hee.**

**Just rented the second movie from the library and watched it... and the funny parts a second time, lol.**

**"OW! OW, THAT'S MY EYE YOU CRAZY BITCH!"**

**"Oh my God. I've been searching all my life for these alien robots... and you're carrying one around in your purse like a little Chihuahua."**

**"My father was a wheel, the FIRST wheel! And you know what he transformed into? NOTHING! But he did so with honor!... dignity, damn it!"**

**... Ahem. Well, I think you'll be pleased to know that this time around, as per a suggestion from Girl with the Wolves (thanks by the way!), Stacie's part is about 300 words longer than Aspen's. Sorry I keep doing that, I don't mean to - I just love the Autobots, no one blames me for that, right? :D**

**Alright! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! (And leave me some yummy little reviews, 'cause I eat those like popcorn!)**

* * *

><p>Four hours of piecing Ironhide back together yielded little progress. I'd managed to get one footankle put together, but damn it if I'd be done anytime soon. These aliens were nothing if not _huge_.

I'd also noticed that a lot of his previous weapons seemed to be missing - maybe destroyed? Everyone had told me he'd had giant cannons, but so far I had yet to see any gargantuan guns. Maybe I ought to replace those too... you know? So he looked _exactly_ the way everybody remembered him.

But I couldn't concern myself with his weapons now. I had to actually get his body rebuilt. Then I could add some kick-ass cannons to make him look perfect.

So anyway, after four hours of work I was sore, tired, covered in sweat and grime. But I felt good, like I'd done an honest day's work. Like what I was doing would've made Ironhide proud if he were here. Then again, if he _were_ here... I wouldn't have even been doing it in the first place.

I guess rebuilding a giant alien robot who was everyone' best friend... just puts a few things in perspective for you.

I emerged from my construction room of solitude to join the others. I was curious to see how far Mike had gotten with replacing Optimus's wires. Not to mention, I kind of wanted to have some convo with Ratchet, see what he could tell me about his race that I didn't know - stuff that might be useful while I was patching them up. And I could patch _him_ up - or at least attempt to - while we talked.

I locked the door to Ironhide's room and wandered out into the main room. The first thing I saw was a snazzy yellow-and-black Camaro that looked suspiciously like my buddy Bee. I walked closer, almost afraid to touch it. "Uhm, was this here when I left? Did some government person park in here by mistake, or...?"

I glanced up at Optimus, who was still being worked on by my brother. Wires were getting attached and cut and tossed and welded and _oh_ - it was crazy. My robot friend shot me a smile... and _damn_, was I really getting to like his smiles. I mean, seriously. If you've never seen an Autobot smile, you should try it sometime. It just kind of puts you in a good mood. "That is Bumblebee's alternate form. He is asleep now."

"Ohh. He was tired? Sure didn't seem like it when he was attacking me with cuteness and affection."

"His Energon needed a rest, to replenish itself. He transformed about an hour ago, that was when we noticed it." His optics blinked at me. "Please do not wake him, Aspen, he needs to sleep."

"Uhh, Energon. Right, okay." I looked over at Mike, wiping my forehead. "Heya nerd, how we doing?"

"Yeah, yeah, As, I'm slow, okay?" He lifted his welding mask and puckered his mouth at me. "Give me maybe another... hour, alright? I just figured it out, the Ratch over there had to coach me through the first hour." He rolled his eyes before flipping the mask back down. "Apparently it's like super-advanced surgery on their planet. On _this_ planet, it's called a job for an electrician."

I raised an eyebrow. "'The Ratch'?" Um, was he talking about Ratchet? Seriously. He couldn't even give anyone a street name the right way.

Speaking of my med-bot, I headed over and grabbed a piece of floor next to him, putting my hair up with a rubber band. "Ratchet, I'm not sure if you know this or not," I commented, "but my idiot brother's over there making up nicknames for you."

He chuckled a little. "Yes, Michael is indeed a dominant person, it seems. I don't believe he would sincerely care if any of us requested only to be called by our given name."

I scoffed. "Yeah, no, he's an asshole. He knows I don't like being called 'As' because that sounds like 'ass', and he does it anyway. You see the things I put up with to get you guys fixed?"

"You are indeed a very altruistic young lady, Aspen." If I wasn't mistaken from the constant watering of my eyes from when I'd been working on 'Hide, Ratchet's blue optics flickered, almost like a sparkle. "You should be proud of who you are."

"Uh-huh. I'm super awesome, I know. Hey, so listen, Doc... I was wondering, could you give me, like, an Intro to Autobot-ology lesson while I do my best to get the medical station up and running? Do you have a course for beginners?"

He smiled, and it was the same as Optimus's smile. Gentle, caring, as if they all knew something I didn't and I had to find whatever it was out for myself. And there was that twinkling flicker in his eyes again. "You wish to be educated about our race? How refreshing to meet someone who is genuinely interested. And by 'getting the medical station up and running', you do mean beginning repairs on me, yes?"

"Well, you'll have to help me through it a little," I admitted with a slight blush, opening my toolbox. "This _is_ my first time working on a giant piece of space tech with an actual mind, heart, you know."

"An autonomy, is that the word you're searching for?"

"Autonomy - that's like free will, right? I guess that's the right word."

"Am I correct in assuming you've not worked on any type of technology aside from that of Earth?"

"You would hit the nail on the head with that assumption, my good sir."

"Hit the nail on the head?"

I almost snorted, but stopped myself. For God's sake, he was an alien! Of course he had no idea what I was talking about. "Uh, it's just an Earth saying... I guess more American than anything. It just means you'd be completely accurate."

"Ah, I see. Hitting the nail on the head... ah. I suppose it makes sense enough. On Cybertron, we would say that it is as certain as our moon."

"Cybertron has a moon?"

"Yes. We call it Astra, though in several human languages I believe that word would be closer to the word for 'star', yes? But in our language, it means 'only'... or, depending on the context, 'alone'."

"So you call it that because it's your only moon, right? And you say it would be as certain as the moon because the moon's always there?"

"You are very smart, Aspen. It's nice to meet someone like you. Different, and loud, and... different... but intelligent enough to carry on a serious conversation."

"Thanks! Likewise, I guess, it's awesome to meet someone like _you_, who's so... wise, I guess."

"_Wise_." He scoffed. "That just means I'm getting old. Thanks for _that_ compliment."

I laughed. "So, um, where's your injury? ... Parentheses, 'ies', parentheses?"

"Here." He grimaced slightly as he placed a hand on what looked like... somewhere between his leg and waist. "My hip. I seem to have dislocated it somewhat, and without assistance from another, it's extremely difficult to pop back into place. Blasted age getting to me already..."

I nodded, wheeling a ladder over. "Why didn't any of the others help you then?"

"Oh, Optimus wanted to. But, ah... between you and I, err... I told a small mistruth and put him under the impression that it wasn't as bad as it is, and that I just needed rest... to stay off my feet." He avoided my eyes, glancing down almost guiltily. "I've just been concerned about the pain, that's all. It's going to hurt quite a bit. Perhaps like... relocating a human's shoulder."

I chuckled, bringing up my wrench and climbing the ladder. "Doctors make the worst patients, Ratchet."

"Another Earth saying, I assume?"

"Yeah."

"I'm afraid I do not fully understand that one either. If a doctor is ill or injured, they will know exactly how to treat their ailment."

I giggled; these guys really did know zero of Earth customs. "Are you serious? Doctors make the worst patients 'cause they know too much. They know how much pain something's gonna cause, so they're big babies about anything they know is going to hurt."

"Big babies, hmm? Even if the pain _will_ be excruciating?"

"I take that back. Big _whiner _babies."

* * *

><p>I stayed for a long time with the three Decepticons. I <em>had<em> promised to help Megatron, and plus I wanted to make sure Starscream's condition didn't regress back to him dying. I still had no idea what I had done, but if I had saved his life, it would've been nice if it _stayed_ saved. I would have really felt horrible if what I did suddenly unraveled and caused him to die.

I sat quietly beside Megatron, building or perhaps, at times, taking things apart. I was trying to repurpose the metal I'd found into something useful to rebuild Megatron. I had only found one of his hands as of yet, so I was attempting to create the other one with the metal I'd found.

... Well, okay, stolen. I have to get more used to this whole "bad girl" business. Or, uh, "nice, normal girl who's _working_ for the bad guys" business, I suppose you'd call it.

Starscream was up and about, but he wasn't going anywhere - at least he was moving though. Just sitting beside me, peeking over my shoulder at my project. He'd stood up a few times, but I thought it was unwise for him to do too much too fast, so he'd agreed to rest for a while. What a relief that he seemed to be getting better instead of worse.

Unlike Megatron, Starscream actually _liked_ talking to me. He sat there, asked me questions about my life. Parents, siblings, what life was really like here on Earth. I got the distinct (well, okay, I guess it was kind of subtle) impression that he wasn't exactly 100% on board with wiping out the entire human race, as Megatron seemed to be. He was curious about Earth life, and about me. I answered him patiently and obediently as I worked.

Then there was a quiet pause in our conversation, when he was probably trying to think of more questions. I figured that since he'd been asking me questions about my life, I'd be able to ask him a few about _his_ life. I was curious too, about how he was raised, what it was like where he was from, what they usually did for fun there, stuff like that. Like he'd asked me. So as I was tinkering with my stolen scraps of metal, I casually spoke up. "So, uh... what about you? Your planet. Your parents, your family...?"

When I glanced up from my work, he was staring up at the sky, with what I assumed to be a pensive look in his optics. Maybe he was staring at a cloud, wishing I hadn't just asked him that. "Things are different, it seems," he muttered, just loud enough for me to hear. "Between our home worlds, I mean. From what you've said..."

I kept working, but I didn't ever stop listening to him. After all, that didn't answer my question. He may have wanted to say more, but he wasn't so sure how to put it. "What's different, Starscream? You can tell me, I won't judge."

"Perhaps," he sighed, "a little judgment would be better. Perhaps being judged is what our culture requires. It is the way of life we have always known, since the very beginning... so we cannot judge it ourselves. We would always defend it."

"Maybe we've been doing some things wrong," Megatron suddenly added. "Not as efficient as they could be. Not providing the quality of life that is deserved. This is what you are trying to say, Starscream... yes?"

He looked down. "Yes, Master, I was simply..."

"Educating the Earth female in our ways. Yes. You wouldn't mind, then, if I began this discussion?"

"O-Of course not, Master... by all means, after you."

Megatron's eyes flickered to me, but they never made contact with mine. "You wish to know how our relations, our family and kinship, all that work? _Stacie_?"

He said my name with such venom, such contempt, and I was stupid enough to voice a reply. "Yeah. I'd appreciate it." I returned to work as I listened.

"You humans, you have natural, live births, yes?"

"Uh-huh."

"It is not so on Cybertron. When two beings are ready to do this, to procreate and maintain our race, there is no sort of impregnation involved. In fact... it can be done even without this deep bond, between mechs or between femmes or a mech and a femme. It always requires two, however."

"I don't understand," I interrupted quietly. "If it can be done between two of you regardless of gender... why do you even need gender in the first place?"

Megatron shrugged. "I have never questioned it."

"I've always wondered about that myself," Laserbeak snickered. Wow... how long had he been silent for? Had to be a record on his part.

"Variety, perhaps," Starscream interjected, and I could saw his lips curl upward somewhat. "Besides, does it really matter so much? After all, who _wouldn't_ want to look at a femme bot? _My_, they're such enchanting creatures, but so few and far between."

"Oh yes, much agreed, my friend," Laserbeak concurred. "I wonder if I might be able to track down that one I used to know... such a pretty thing. Oh, Starscream, did you not used to share a bond with one? If I knew her name, she may be out among the stars somewhere... I could do a search for them..."

Starscream scoffed. "Yes, a bond. But not that kind of - oh, did you honestly think so when you met her? Really. She shared my spark signature. You mean you didn't sense it?"

"Didn't truly think about it, no. Now that I _do_ think about it, you know, I guess you two looked rather alike... would you blame me if I commented on how lovely she was, then?"

I cleared my throat. "You had a sister, Starscream? I wish I had a sister."

This seemed to bring them out of their "tune-Stacie-out" world. "Yes," he answered. "I also had two brothers."

"Did you guys play with each other a lot, back on your planet?"

"'Play'? If you mean transforming to our alternate modes and driving circles around each other - yes, we did do that quite often. Rustbreaker, she always went faster than me."

"She was your sister?"

"Yes."

"And she's... not here with you? Where is she?"

He returned to looking at the sky. "I'm... not sure. My brothers followed me here with Master... but she did not." He closed his optics, and then lie back down from his sitting position with a light thud. "I should face the truth... she has likely been offline for some time now."

I blinked, feeling my eyes water again, and put my work down. I crawled over to Starscream, and placed my hand on his shoulder plate. "Don't say that," I whispered. "I'm sure she's still out there somewhere."

"Even if you're right," he responded, "what are my chances of finding her? She could be anywhere."

"Well, then, that just means you've got your work cut out for you. All you'd have to do is start looking."

"Maybe you're right. Some time I should go looking for her..."

I smiled and returned to my work. "Ah. So then... what about your parents? We were kind of talking about that before the whole gender issue came up and bugged me."

"They're called hatchlings," Starscream answered. "They are formed through the combination of Energon from two Cybertronians. I suppose in theory it works with more than two, but..."

"But all those are mutants," Megatron spoke up. "Ugly creatures, hardly able to survive on their own. Shouldn't even be created, only a handful have ever survived. There's just too much Energon being combined, it causes an overload and atrophies the hatchling's system."

"Right." Starscream nodded. "It's definitely not recommended to create a hatchling with more than two Cybertronians."

"You know what I'm wondering?" I put the metal aside, now fully engaged in the conversation. "If the only thing this requires is two beings, and maybe a bond, could you crossbreed with other species? Say, humans for example?"

Nobody really had an answer to that at first. But in their defense, it looked like they were all stunned into silence by my query. Honestly, how bold had that been of me? Had I gone over the invisible line?

"I suppose," Starscream said slowly, choosing his words carefully in the presence of his master, "that it would be possible. But I have never heard of any of us attempting to breed with another species."

"Of course not," Megatron snapped. "It shouldn't happen. The result would likely be an abomination."

I nodded. "Oh... oh, alright then. I just wondered, is all." _No need to bite my head off,_ I mumbled mentally.

"You know," Starscream continued quietly, after most of the awkwardness had died down, "not every Cybertronian who creates a hatchling stays with them. It's not like your Earth children. Once they hatch, they become a sparkling and then it's considered that they are capable of fending for themselves. But it's not always so. Suppose they hatch before they're supposed to... not done developing. If they're left alone then, they'll go offline quickly. Within hours, sometimes. They won't have enough Energon to support themselves... they need constant attention."

I nodded, pushing my hair back. That really _was_ different from the way us humans worked. I mean, hatchlings? Then again, when I thought about it, really thought... maybe it wasn't really _so_ different. After all, babies needed constant attention, just like those hatchlings. And sometimes human parents didn't want to keep their children, but they didn't just leave them to die. "Whoa. That's... whoa. I'm learning so much. So... parents leave their children sometimes, then. Is... Is that what happened to you?"

A very slight smile came on his face, and he let out a breath. "Yes. But my spark-kin and I, we were lucky. We were saved."

* * *

><p><strong>OMG!<strong>

**First... POOR STARSCREEEAAAAAM~ *huggles plushie* Don't wowwy, I will pwotect you fwom all da sadness! *snuggle* My widdle buddy!**

**Second... hehehehe. Look at me, manipulating Cybertronian culture and reproduction like nobody's business.**

**Oh yeah! And the hatchlings in the second movie... SUPER ADORABLE~ Starscream seemed so protective of them... "Hatchlings! Hatchlings! Careful, very fragile!"**

**Barricade: *snickers* *nudges Starscream* So, who was the mommy, Stars-creamed-himself?**

**Starscream: SILENCE! YOU JERK! *80's chase music***

**Barricade: Oh come on! *laughing maniacally* Just tell me, you did it with another mech, didn't you! I always knew! Hahaha!**

**Starscream: FRAGGIN PILE OF SLAG, GET BACK HERE! WHY ARE YOU RUNNING, HUH? I JUST WANT TO PUNCH YOU!**

**Okay! Now, the Transformers-based questions get more intense...**

**Starscream, or Barricade? And why?**

**Review with your answer~ and how much you liked this chapter, what you liked, what you'd like to see, suggestions, et cetera.**

**Thanks for reading! ^^**


	7. Can't Believe My Eyes

**Hey hey! Sorry it's been so long. There's this stupid thing called LIFE... XD**

**Also, sorry that Stacie's part is WAY shorter than Aspen's... I got lazy, is the only explanation I have. I'll TRY SUPER DUPER HARD to make her part longer next time.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Uh, so... no sex then? Is that what I'm supposed to be getting?"<p>

Ratchet made a noise that for one of these guys was probably the equivalent of an amused snort. "Is that what you believe? Honestly. Perhaps you're not quite as bright as I initially thought."

"Heyyy!" I cracked my wrench lightly against his shoulder, pouting at him. I could tell he was joking, from that sparkle in his optics, but I was simply playing along. "You're confusing me, Ratchet. It's not my fault, I swear you talk in riddles or something."

He chuckled, running one giant finger down the length of my hair. "Oh, young one, I was being facetious."

"I was _also_ kidding around!"

Waaait... did we just have a moment of very clear communication? Score one for the Autobot side! I bet Megs didn't communicate with humans this well. Of course, he hated us all, but seriously. I felt pretty badass to be on the same page with an advanced alien race.

_Somehow_ we'd managed to pop his hip back into place. He was right, it definitely _was_ a lot of pain... at least, from what I could determine of that look on his face and that awful, agony-filled yell.

Everyone but Bee (who was still sound asleep, engine purring peacefully) had looked over at us, surprised. Optimus didn't really say anything, though I heard Mike mumble something under his breath, something like "Hey hey, eyes on the prize, Big Guy, need you to concentrate" beacause he was staring at us. The Wreckers blinked at us, optics wide, before continuing to play poker. Wheelie and Brains, who'd been just talking, looked startled and didn't really take their eyes off us for a minute. Skids and Mudflap (affectionately called the Twins, because hey, they _were_ except for color) just started arguing... as I figured out they did all the freakin' time. For _kicks_. Brotherly love, let me tell you.

He was in pain for a few minutes, actually. It wasn't over just like a snap of your fingers. He didn't cry or anything, and I thought these guys must have some freakishly high pain tolerance. I'd had my shoulder dislocated and popped back into place before, and I was a blubbering mess for close to fifteen minutes. I had to give the guy credit that he wasn't crying.

I didn't take my eyes off him until all that pain was over. I held my polishing rag over his hip, because it was kind of warm and I thought that might help. I talked him through it, telling him in just a minute it'd be okay. I guess he really did appreciate it.

After that I made some little repairs on him - a finger plate that needed reattached, a few small cuts that had as of late been leaking Energon. Not life-threatening, just tiny nuisances that needed to be fixed. And as I did that, he began giving me a course in Cybertronian culture and anatomy and stuff. He'd been trying to get me to wrap my mind around their whole reproduction process, but I wasn't getting it. He'd said young ones were called hatchlings, and that they were created by two Cybertronians mixing their Energon to give a new being life. It apparently wasn't considered as any kind of sexual act, and could be done between any two Cybertronians. Yet there were still two variations: the mechs, or males, and femmes, or females. So, what I got from that was... no sex, ever.

And obviously, I was wrong YET AGAIN.

I leaned against his shoulder. "So, um, if that's not right... I, uh, I don't get it. Can you explain to me why it is that even though your reproduction doesn't _involve_ sex, you guys can still _have_ sex?"

Ratchet laughed. "Ah, well, you certainly have an interesting way of phrasing that question. Here, perhaps a demonstration will help."

"I don't need that! I've been through sex ed! I can only imagine what it would be Cybertronian style! _Gaaah_!"

"Oh, hush. That's not what I meant, you know it, and here." He lifted his hand, and a miniature laser-beam screen... thing... showed up. It showed a Cybertronian and some other kind of freaky looking thing that _wasn't_ a Cybertronian holding their hands out toward each other. The Cybertronian's hands were shooting out a reddish purplish beam - but not even quite a beam, more like a kind of burst - and the other thing's hands were shooting out a greenish burst/beam/glow thing.

"_Whoaaaaa_. Dude." My eyes widened. "What in the hell is happening?"

"A Cybertronian and another alien being called a Kezoid - they are creating a hatchling. I suppose it would be close to mating for these two, I believe they are some of the few who share a bond."

"So, it's like really rare for you guys to actually do this out of love? Is that it?"

He sighed, blinking, and the image flickered slightly. "It is rare for Decepticons to produce hatchlings out of their feelings for one another. They are usually created for an army then, and left on their own after they have hatched. Autobots - now, _we_ protect our hatchlings, our sparklings. Rarely do _we_ procreate for the sake of it, but it is common for the Decepticons. We have... different views on the matter."

"I get it." I returned my attention to the little video. "So, you guys can do this with other species?"

"Yes. We can force Energon out of our bodies to create a hatchling, but it's not so easy for other beings. This Kezoid, she is being helped by the Cybertronian. The Energon is able to somewhat coax out the other's energy source. The resulting hatchling is closer to Cybertronian than Kezoid, for a reason that's not completely understood, but the sparkling will eventually develop some traits of its mother as well. It will be called a Cyberzoid, a blended name of its heritage."

"Oh, so you take basically just the 'Cyber' and then the end of whatever the other race is?"

"Typically, yes."

"What do you think it would be if it happened between one of you and a human? Like, Cyber-man or something?" Even as I said it I was trying not to bust up laughing.

For some reason Ratchet failed to see the funny. "Hmm. I'm not exactly sure that such a thing has ever happened between a Cybertronian and a human. But I believe it would be named a Cyberling... Cybertronian and an Earthling."

"Oh. I guess that sounds better than mine. So then... it's possible for you guys to still have sex?"

"Yes. I know it may seem bewildering to you, but we are just like any other species. We experience these feelings, and such an act can easily occur between a mech and a femme. It is simply more of a recreational activity for us, not a way to procreate."

"So sex is fun," I murmured. "Like I don't get that." I looked up at him again; thankfully he'd either not heard those comments, or had heard them and decided to ignore the annoying little Earth female. "But... it _has_ to be the same species, right? Both Cybertronian?"

"Oh look," he smirked sarcastically, "she's finally got a good grip on it."

I snarled and grabbed my toolbox. "You know _what_! We done here. Mm-hmm, that's right." I slid down the ladder and tossed my hair. "I'm gonna go do repairs on Mudflap and Skids. By the way, you're _welcome_. I didn't hear a thank you."

"Perhaps that's because I didn't emit one through my vocal processor."

"But hey, you love me, right?"

If there was a Cybertronian equivalent of someone rolling their eyes, that was what Ratchet did. "What kind of a question is that, Aspen? _Everyone_ loves you."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." I sashayed off to where the twins were. "Yo boys, who needs worked on?"

"Me, me, me, me, me!" they both shouted at once, scrambling to get in front of me.

"_You's_?" Mudflap scoffed, shoving his brother back. "Man, you's ain't got nothin' but a couple broke plates!" He got down on his knees in front of me. "Come on, baby, they dinged my poor l'il rim! You's don't feel bad fo' me?"

"Hey, she doin' _me_ first!" Skids rushed his brother, knocking him down and having a mini wrestling match. "Oooh, you's gonna get yo' ass kicked for dat, man!"

I sighed and hung my head, then looked over at my brother. "Yo! Optimus! How _you_ doin' over there?"

"I do believe we are nearly done. I trust that you have not caused injury?"

I growled and looked at the twins before looking back at Optimus. "May not stay that way for long," I muttered just loud enough so he could hear me, putting my hands on the back of my hips.

Optimus chuckled. "You must tame them, Aspen. Do not allow them to believe you will tolerate their nonsense."

"Right." I pushed my proverbial sleeves up, and steeled myself to head into the middle of an Autobot sibling scrap. "A'ight, boys, you two maniacs asked for it!" I ran in and somehow got a hand on each of their hips, trying to shove them apart and managing to at least keep them from doing anything but swatting at each other. "What is wrong with you two! Argument's dead and buried, leave it in the grave!"

"You's can't tell us what ta do!" Skids protested.

"Oh yeah, she can't tell us ta do nothin'!" Mudflap agreed. "She can't tell us nothin'!"

I gave both of them a hard shove. "I'll kill you both!" I threatened. "You two don't calm down, I'll shove my wrenches somewhere they shouldn't _ever_ be, so _you guys gonna just SIT_!" With that I gave one last push.

To my surprise they both fell, flat on their asses and then some. They fumbled a minute before looking at me, a mix between teasing and mild shock on their robotic faces.

"Yo! Did you's see dat?"

"See dat! I _felt_ dat, you dumbass!"

"Who you's callin' a dumbass, dumbass?"

"You's want some? Come on, I'll kick yo' behind!"

"BOYS!" I yelled. "No more fighting. _I'm_ gonna tell you how it is, you get me? Don't forget I got more than one wrench. How many orifices _you_ guys got?"

They huddled together, looking scared and shaking. "Listen to her! Listen to her!"

I smirked, lifting the lid on my toolbox and slipping my clear, protective glasses on. "And ain't _neither_ of you gonna say I look funny with these, got it?" I shook out my ponytail and pointed at Skids. "You first, you got _actual_ damage." I switched my finger to point at Mudflap. "You. 'Gettin' yo' rims dinged' ain't as big a deal, that's fixed a hella lot easier. Wait ya turn."

As I bent down to get my own welding torch, I heard them talking about me.

"Man oh man, Skids, she sparkin' up ovah dere."

"I know, man. Hey, ain't we need a name to call her?"

"Yeah yeah, but whatchu talkin' about?"

"You's _said_ she sparkin' up. We call her Sparky!"

"Yeah! Good one, Skids, dat be ballin' right dere."

"I have a name," I called. "It's _Aspen_, and I refuse to be called-"

"Yeah I know, dat's why I'm da smart twin."

"_You's_ da smart twin! Get real, you glitchin'."

"No I ain't! You's just jealous, man, why you be hatin' on yo' own bro?"

"Jealous o' you's, yeah right! _You's_ just jealous o' me 'cause I got da brains _and_ da looks."

"You's got da looks, we _twins_, ya glitch!"

I whirled around with my torch lit. "YOU TWO WANNA PIECE'A THIS IN THE WRONG PLACE, HUH?"

They both squealed and backed up. "Don't hurt us! We's too young ta die, Sparky!"

"And stop calling me that or y'all gonna be a coupla marshmallows!" I flicked the torch off and cocked my head to the left. "Mudflap. You get goin' till I call you." I then held out my hand to Skids, curling my fingers toward myself. "Skids. You come with me, we're gonna get you all fixed up."

* * *

><p>Thanks to Megatron's glare, I now got the sense that I was slacking off, so I grabbed the makeshift servo and quickly began working again. I didn't have a torch, so it was a little difficult to combine parts of different metals, but I could use my wrenches and screwdrivers to take things apart; from there, it was just figuring out how to get them together with different parts. Not quite as hard as it sounds, but not a walk in the park by definition.<p>

But as I worked, I was still talking to Starscream. Their planet was fascinating, and it occurred to me that he probably found Earth just as interesting as I found Cybertron. Moment of bonding? Maybe... maybe not. "So you guys were saved? By who? I mean... Megatron, you're in the same age bracket as Starscream, aren't you?"

Megatron just sighed. "I would have been very young myself when he first became a sparkling, so no, I wouldn't have been able to care for anyone else. I was not the one who rescued him."

"So you're about the same age..." I turned my head away from him and back up at Starscream. "Who saved you, then?"

"The same person who was a mentor to my master," he replied, and I noticed that he did _not_ look over at Megatron. "The one who taught him, allied with him, and then betrayed us. Sentinel Prime."

... Yup, there it was. Megatron growled, softly, but definitely audible. "If you know what won't get you killed," he hissed, "you'll tune your vocal processor _out_ to any further mention of that old rust-bucket."

Ouch. Even _I_ winced, and for once I wasn't the one in trouble. Poor Starscream.

Speaking of him, he was busy scooting as far away from Megatron as possible, closer to me as if _I_ of all people/sentient beings could protect him. Yeah, ummm... as if. "I-I am sorry, Lord Megatron, I was simply informing the girl-"

A biting look from the Decepticon overlord was enough to scare my budding friend into silence. He probably would have literally buried himself in the ground if he could have done so without... you know, the obvious problems.

Megatron closed his optics, and when he opened them again he was looking away from us. "That's what I thought."

I inched closer to Starscream, slicking my hand against his leg. "Umm, so he's not going to be listening to us anymore, right?"

Starscream shrugged. "I... have no idea."

I shuddered, even though it was a pretty warm day, and tried to get closer to the heat that he had.

He chuckled a little. "You are cold, human?" He reached down and ran his claw over the top of my head. It felt... weird... but it wasn't unpleasant. "My sensors indicate that this would be an ideal temperature for humans. And yet _you_ are cold?"

I grinned weakly, grasping the metal of his leg with both hands. "I'm always cold for some reason. I have no idea why. But you're warm." I laid my cheek against him as well. "Yeah... uh-huh..."

Starscream shook his head a little, but other than that he seemed fine with the sudden contact. "Fine, you may stay, but are you not supposed to be working on Lord Megatron's-"

"Oh yeah!" I sucked in a breath, trying to absorb all the heat I could, and raced over to grab my things before quickly returning back to the warmth. I sat down, keeping my back against him as I got back to work. "S-Sorry, Lord Megatron," I commented just loud enough for him to hear me. "I, um, I should be done with this servo by tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll weld it all together."

He grunted. "And when are you going to begin the process of actually _rebuilding _me?"

I think my whole face probably turned red. "I, uh, I, um," I stammered. "S-Soon, my lord... I, uh - soon."

I could tell he wasn't really satisfied with my answer, but he accepted it for now, shutting his optics again. "It had better be soon, femme."

I clunked my head against Starscream's leg, pouting. I wished he would just _use my freaking name_. We have names for a reason; after all, he didn't refer to Starscream as "that idiot who keeps getting on what's left of that last, nearly dead nerve". Why wouldn't he give me that same respect? Just because I was a human femme or whatever? "Don't worry, I... I'll start soon. I promise."

He proceeded to ignore me, probably going into stasis or something.

I turned away and pouted up at Starscream. "Okay, that's it, Starscream." I nestled as best as I could into his armor. "Whenever I come here, you're _so_ going to be my blanket." I smiled and closed my eyes, pointing my head down. "Maybe... Maybe I should just sleep here tonight. Get my stuff in the morning." I shifted position. "I'm tired... it seems like everything's changing."

I felt his claw against my hair, just barely, tracing down to the ends. "It is, is it not? One day you are living life as you are accustomed to it... then we show up and completely alter your schedule. Perhaps everything is changing."

"For me at least," I mumbled, yawning. "It's getting late, Starscream, you should probably... go into stasis or... something... get some rest..."

As I fell away into the black, I heard him chuckle. "You too, little human."

* * *

><p><strong>Well! I enjoyed writing that, and I hope you enjoy reading it. As always, reviews are welcomed and cherished. XD<strong>

**Thanks for reading!**

**Oh yeah, and Merry Christmas! (Or Happy Hanukah/Happy Kwanzaa!) Have fun with the holidays! ^^**


	8. Took Me By Surprise

**FINALLY! Oh, er, uh, hi there. FINALLY, as in I FINALLY updated, and I FINALLY got Stacie's part longer than Aspen's. Well, yeah, by 250-some words, but... still. It's an improvement. I'M WORKING ON IT OKAY I SWEAR TO PRIMUS!**

**... Uh, ahem, anyway, in this chapter: things get a little emotional for Aspen and her crew, while Stacie seems to be adjusting a little to her new human-hating friends. Oh, yeah, and Aspen learned the word "frag".**

**... Much hilarity shall ensue.**

**Ooh, and check it out. I found a way to make sure you don't get confused if I put multiple line breaks in, so you always know who's talking. (Not that you could get their personalities mixed up, yeesh...) Bold is for Aspen ('cause, ya know, she's bold LOL), and italics is for Stacie ('cause she's shy and gentle). Like the first sentence of a chapter in a novel!**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Ready to throw in the slagging towel, I was. (Yay for Yoda speak.)<strong>

Mudflap would not _shut the hell up_ the entire time I was working on Skids. It wasn't fair! I was trying to do work on his twin brother, for God's sakes, and he wouldn't stop bugging the frag out of me. (Teehee, I learned that word from Wheelie. Apparently it's something you say when you're pissed. I usually just say "fuck", but "frag" sounds cooler... and that lets you know where I just put myself on the _cool_ spectrum.)

"Shut up, shut up, _shut the slag up,_" I groaned as I tried to position the last of Skids's plates that I needed to weld on. And trust me, I'm being honest, it's really difficult when Mudflap was yelling in my ear about had I ever heard of Nicki Minaj 'cause apparently she was super fresh and super fly. "I don't _care_," I added, shooting him a look from the corner of my eye. "I don't _like_ her. Her butt and her boobs make every girl in the world _jealous,_ and I don't like her _technicolor wigs._"

"Have ya ever seen 'er? She _ooh_ sexy - take her over a femme bot anyday, yup, only there a coupla problems wit' doin' that..."

And it kept going. And going. _And going._

I ground my teeth as I picked up and lit my torch, trying as best I could to block out his never-ending, pointless chatter. Then I became aware suddenly that Mike had finished his job, and Optimus was standing near me now. I glanced up, then turned off my torch and stepped back from Skids, rubbing a hand over my eyes. Because one of them had begun to twitch. "Oh, _hello there,_ Optimus. You notice I can't hear myself think?"

He shook his helm. "Aspen, you must remember what I told you before. He-" Motioning to Mudflap, who _still_ hadn't shut his audial sensors. "- Will not stop until you make it clear that you will not tolerate such."

I pursed my lips, then nodded, putting my torch inside my toolbox. I patted Skids on the stomach area, which was where the plate had been going. "I'll be right back, Skids - just hang on a second. I thought I covered this before I started working, but apparently someone needs me to beat it into his helm." Without waiting for a reply, I climbed off my lader, turned myself around, and marched right over to Mudflap.

My first course of action was to grab his arm and just _pull_. My second? I started yelling at him. "What the Pit is _wrong_ with you?" I started in, reversing my action and pushing him as hard as I could. "I'm trying to fix your fragging brother! Or don't you get that? Seriously, I _told_ you that you barely have anything that needs fixed! And you won't leave me alone! _The hell is your problem! _Do you, like, not want him to get fixed or something?"

He was sorta backing off, but I just kept going. "He's your_ fragging brother,_ and you can't even shut up long enough for me to fix him? I'll be done in, like, five minutes! So sit your ass down - you can blare _Nicki fucking Minaj_ to high heaven for all I care! Just _stop talking,_ and _leave me alone!_" For emphasis, I tossed an unneeded wrench in his general direction, though I didn't aim at his face. Then I turned around, climbed up my ladder, and continued to work on Skids. It was quiet for a minute, and nobody spoke. A small flame burned from my torch, welding the last plate into place - slowly but surely.

Finally, from behind my welding mask, I heard Wheelie mutter, "I told you guys she could be a hardass when she wanted to. But _nooo,_ don't listen to Wheelie. You see what happens when a pretty Trekkie gets pissed off? Ain't gettin' nobody nowhere."

I flipped up my mask, and patted Skids on the shoulder before climbing down the ladder and putting my torch away. "Mudflap? Come on over here, your turn."

"What should I do?" Skids asked, looking down at me.

I shrugged. "Go talk to Mike. I'm sure you'll piss him off quick enough. Go on, it'll be funny."

As he walked off and Mudflap came over, I moved my ladder and got out my rag and oil can. "Okay Mudflap, where's that ding?" I said it without sounding cheerful _or_ angry, which was an accomplishment for me because usually I'm either one of the two. "Which rim?"

"Left..." He was looking at the floor, trying to avoid eye contact, probably. "Ya need me in my alt mode... Sparky?" He was clearly a little hesitant about using the nickname right now,but hey, he had balls, I'd give him that.

"Yeah. That'd be easier."

A moment later, I sat down on the ground by the damaged rim, and splashed some oil on my rag. "Well, I guess it _is_ a pretty bad dent." I had to lean in a little so I could reach it to buff it out. "Just tell me if I'm hurting you."

"Ya hurtin' my feelin's," he mumbled, then vented. "I didn't mean ta make you's mad at me, Sparky. I thought you's was one o' them types that can... ya know... do a buncha stuff at once. I figured you was so smart 'n' all, ya could talk 'n' work at the same time."

There was a tiny pinprick of guilt in my heart. I knew Optimus had said I had to be tough with them, but maybe I'd been a little _too_ tough on Mudflap. I really shouldn't have screamed at him like that - I totally lost my slag, and he must have been scared that I'd make good on previous threats. "Look... I didn't know that's what you were thinking. I'm really flattered that you think I'm smart, Mudflap. You're nice, if a little obnoxious, and I can usually multitask. But if you can just respect that I _need_ quiet while I'm doing repairs, we'd be fine. Okay?"

"Yeah, I guess. Sorry I was so annoyin'. It's jus'..." There was a slight pause, and he vented again. "Me 'n' Skids, we don't got a lotta friends. Mos'ly we just gots each other. You's don't know us... ya just got here. We just thought that... since you's so smart... and we ain't... we had ta find some other way ta impress you's. I know ya like music, so... I figured if I talked about it, Skids would start talkin' too, 'n' you'd like us even though we real dumb."

"You're not _dumb._" I tipped out some oil on my rag again. "And I already like you guys. I mean, there's some people you really like even if they're really annoying. You know, like, uh... Jar-Jar Binks."

"Gungans rule, Naboos drool!" I heard Wheelie call. "Guy didn't get enough credit!"

I deadpanned and slid my rag down. "You see what I'm talking about?" I muttered, just loud enough for Mudflap to hear. "Obsessive sci-fi fans - that's one of them. And you guys, the obnoxious wiggers - that's another. And those women on _Dance Moms_ - another story entirely. Have you heard them argue? I think they're more annoying than _you_ guys sometimes." I glanced down, and I was surprised to find that apparently I'd been rubbing harder than I realized. "Oh hey, look, I'm almost done with the ding."

"So..." I heard _and_ felt his engine rev up a little. "We, uh... we cool, Sparky?"

I grinned. "Cooler than the other side of the pillow, my brotha from anotha motha."

* * *

><p><em>When I woke up and I wasn't in my bed, I mentally freaked out. I was surrounded by grass, and a couple of trees, and a giant bridge over my head. Oh, yeah, and I was sleeping against a giant robot.<em>

But after a minute I calmed down, and realized what must have happened. I was tired, and I guess I fell asleep on Starscream. But who can blame me? I was cold, and he was warm, and I wanted to sleep. In fact, I didn't particularly care that I hadn't gone home, but if one of my parents hadn't been too busy, they would have noticed I was gone and of course once I got back I'd get the third-degree. You would think they'd know the difference between a twenty-four-year-old and a five-year-old.

I pushed myself up a little and glanced to the side. Starscream had moved a little bit, and was now leaning against the bridge, with me in his servo. Apparently he'd picked me up sometime during the night, deciding to be nice and not leave me on the ground without any warmth. He was holding me close near his chest, like I was a stuffed animal, and I almost had to laugh because it sounded like he was snoring.

I stretched out and carefully go on my knees. "Starscream," I whispered, grabbing one of his claws - which was nearly as big as I was - and shaking it gently. "Starscream, wake up." I rolled my eyes when he didn't, but I just kept shaking. "_Starscreeeeam._"

After a few more seconds, his optics slowly onlined, and he looked down at me. "Hmm...? What? Oh. Ah, it's just my little femme." He brought me up to level with his optics and blinked at me. "You woke me, Stacie."

"I know, I'm sorry." I stood up, shaking a little as I did. You would, too, if you were standing on the palm of someone's _hand._ "I have to go get the rest of my tools. I need to leave for a little while so I can get them." I looked down and saw that Megatron - well, his head - was in stasis too. "Can you stay awake?"

"Yes." Even as he said it he was suppressing a yawn - or whatever was the equivalent - but looked as though he was trying to wake himself up. "Why?"

"If Megatron wakes up and sees I'm not here..."

"Ah, yes, I... see what you mean." He lowered me down onto the grass. "I will inform him where you went and that you will be back soon. Will it take more or less than a joor?"

"Well, if I run, I should... uh, a, uh, _what?_" I raised an eyebrow.

"A joor." He shrugged. "You know, ten breems, one thousand nanoclicks, and you don't even understand what I'm saying, do you?"

"No. So, what's a joor?"

He vented, looking rather annoyed with me, then made a point of blowing air out of his fans so it would hit me. "Eighty-three Earth minutes... approximately."

"Okay. Yeah." I stepped off his servo and quickly fixed my ponytail. "I shouldn't even take that long. Half an hour, maybe? Thirty minutes. Maybe a little longer, but I don't think it'll take a whole hour unless my parents _really_ want to chew me out. I hope they weren't even home." I shook my head, shoving my hands in my pockets. "I think I need to get my own house. Uh, anyway." I grinned and turned around, beginning to run. "See you soon, Stars! Thanks!"

I could only _imagine_ his expression as I was leaving. He was already annoyed with me for not knowing his measures of time... from his point of view I probably looked a little too eager to leave for a while. But I wasn't; really, I just wanted to start working and get as much done as possible.

Once I got to my house, I saw that apparently my mother was asleep and my father had already left for work, as a note on the refrigerator addressed to his "June Bug" (I can't blame my parents for loving each other, really, but I just don't believe she's not _once_ told him that's an embarrassing nickname). I managed to quietly slip through the house, grab my laptop from my room, and get the rest of my tools from the garage. I felt a little bad, though, since my mom would be both furious and worried when I wasn't there, so I left a note on the fridge too. I said I would be out with friends for most of the day, I'd be home late, not to wait up for me, and I might be planning a trip with my friends soon.

Yeah, a lot of info to spring with one note. But it was the only excuse I could think of. I mean, what else _could_ I do when I probably wouldn't be at my house while I was repairing the 'Cons? I couldn't think of anything else but "going on a road trip with some buds!" to cover it up. Hey, maybe I could even tell them I was going out of state... I could go to Vegas. That was the embodiment of everything my parents didn't like, and there was really nothing they could do about it.

... Heeeey. _Cool._ Maybe I _could_ do this whole "bad girl" thing after all.

As an afterthought, I also grabbed my little battery-operated boombox from the garage. I didn't want to run out of conversation topics and then just sit there in awkward silence for the rest of the day, though I wasn't sure it was even _possible_ to run out of topics concerning my new, uh, posse.

Finally I got everything I needed - or everything I could think of - and was out of the house before my mom had a chance to wake up and start in on me. Anyway, I could think stuff over today and have a list of things I could grab tomorrow before I "went on my trip".

I was back soon, and to my nearly-groan-inducing relief, Megatron was out of stasis now. I still didn't see Laserbeak anywhere around, but he'd probably be back. (I swear he either had a crush on me or was obsessed with envisioning me as a scantily-clad slave girl... agh, maybe it was both.) "Good morning," I called as I got closer, setting my things down. "What, did Laserbeak fly the coop? Haha, get it?"

"No," Megatron answered flatly.

"He left during the night," Starscream offered, probably trying to be helpful. "Shall I call him back?"

"Nah, I'm sure he'll come around soon." I sat down, grabbing at the pseudo-servo I'd been working on yesterday (apparently what I'd thought was Megatron's other servo was actually just his wrist), before Starscream just flicked it in my direction. "Thanks. So, uh, are you feeling any better after getting some rest, Lord Megatron?"

"Perhaps a scintilla."

I barely held back a giggle; if I didn't have a larger-than-average vocabulary, I would have thought he was speaking Cybertronian. "Well, progress is progress, I suppose. Did Stars tell you where I went?"

"I did," Starscream quickly replied, probably before Megatron could inquire about the new moniker. "And you were back just when you told me you would be." He reached down and rather nervously poked my head with his claw a few times, in what was probably supposed to be a pat of sorts. "Er, good little human pet. Good femme."

If I were the type who really cared, I would have asked why I was being treated like a dog all of a sudden. But, since I didn't care, I just handwaved it as Starscream showing off for his master. "Yeah, anyway..." I scooted out from under his claw lest I be poked again, and pulled out my torch and mask, but didn't put them on yet. Then I dragged the boombox out beside me. "Who wants some music while I work?"

I didn't really get a response, though Starscream did shrug. Megatron kind of ignored me though.

I pressed the _ON_ button, and out blared my favorite station - country. I almost never had it on anything else, though sometimes I went through little phases for the contemporary station, but I always came back to country. Contemporary styles would keep changing, but country was something that would always be there. "There, much better."

Though my companions were probably just confused by it...

"_Who said anything about skiin'?_

_Floatin' is all I wanna do_

_You can climb the ladder_

_Just don't rock the boat while I barbecue_

_On the pontoon_

_Makin' waves and catchin' rays up on the roof_

_Jumpin' off the back, don't act like you don't want to_

_Party in slow motion_

_I'm out here in the open_

_Mmm, motorboatin'..._"

I received one dumbfounded look and one grunt. I don't think there'll be any trouble in distinguishing what came from who. I just sighed, put on my mask, and fired up my torch, slumping my shoulders.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! ^^<strong>


	9. You'll Never Feel Alone

**I have no idea what brought this on. I JUST updated this, didn't I? LOL. But yesterday I was bored and I was all "Hey, I know! Let me do a time-skippish thingy on my one story" because I REALLY wanted to get to this part.**

**And be honest, detailing EVERY single day for Aspen and Stacie would get just a little bit repetitive, wouldn't it?**

**By the way... watch Key of Awesome's parodies on YouTube! *whisper* Especially "Call Me Maybe" and "Firework". They're the best parodies out there, I listened to them the entire morning!**

**Also, Mirage rocks. You'll see why I didn't introduce him earlier, but I LURVed him in teh movie.**

**Mirage: All ten seconds of me...**

**Me: But it was a very badass ten seconds! And I give you some more stuff to do in my story, capsice?**

**Mirage: *glare***

**Me: *runs* ENJOY THE CHAPTER!**

* * *

><p><strong>Two months.<strong>

That was how long it took me to see that I was almost done fixing Ironhide. The other repairs took about a week, and after that I went straight to my "Enter at your own damn risk" room to work on him. I got to the base about six in the morning, broke for lunch around twelve (or one, depending on how _mad_ I still was at this Sentinel guy for killing 'Hide) and usually spent an hour or two with the twins and Bee or Ratchet (in the med bay! Squee! That place is F-U-N!) before continuing till five.

Now, let me tell you what that two months entailed, exactly:

Two months of welding, sweat, dust, climbing, sweat, tears, oil, and more sweat as I was repairing Ironhide.

Two months of Mudflap and Skids having "Nicki Minaj" battles, which basically means blaring their favorite Nicki song of the week at each other till someone backed down.

Two months of washing the 'Bots, with my ever-so-lovely Wrecker buddies throwing soapy sponges at me. Also, Wheelie begging for a wet T-shirt car wash contest... thing. (Yeah, I don't know either.)

Two months of Leadfoot _daring_ to enter my "Enter at your own damn risk" room, and subsequently two months of me chasing him the hell out with a broom.

Two months of being given target duty (as in, I'm the target on the firing range) by Prowl, a new 'Bot who arrived and had been recognized as Optimus's former (and once again current) Security Officer. (He doesn't exactly like me. Apparently he's allergic to _fun,_ because his face turns red whenever I'm around. Though that could be anger.)

Two months of five-minute conversations with Optimus before I left the base, where he would scoop me up in his hand and we'd watch the sunset. I did most of the talking, but that was okay because he said he wasn't much of a talker. But boy, was he a good listener.

Oh yeah, and did I forget to mention? I got a guardian!

I think it must have been about three weeks since I'd gotten there when we were introduced. His name's Mirage, but some people call him Dino. I hadn't met him because they were keeping me away from him for a while, on account of he didn't care much for organics. As in, humans... i.e., _me._ But it was decided that I needed a guardian - since, um, giant robots and some of them may be out for my blood - and once I met him, I didn't think he was so bad; he was nicer than the Wreckers, anyway. (That's not hard though, they're assholes.)

He was actually polite, and when Optimus said that he was assigned to be my guardian - you know, like the Bumblebee to my Sam - there wasn't much discussion. He kind of looked down at me and vented, offlined and onlined his optics a few times, then shrugged and accepted it without verbal question.

Like all the others, he was pretty big. He was a bright red color, and he had these cool blades on his wrist he used for attacks. His alternate mode was a Ferrari, which I _had_ to squeal over when he transformed for the first time - and another time when I found out he'd technically not-really sorta kinda be _my_ car now. A Ferrari has to be, like, the sexiest car in all existence. (Much better than my trucked-up old junker, anyway.)

He usually controlled himself around me, since unlike most humans he didn't dislike me, but every once in a while he'd slip up. There were a few times when something about Earth frustrated him - like, say, the fact he couldn't randomly transform on the highway when he thought that cop car was a Decepticon... on the lawn when he thought a tree needed cut down... and a lot of other places. _That_ was when he usually said something about "_Organici stupidi_" or "_ragazza muta_" or something like that.

And he actually thought speaking in Italian would _help_ matters. But I took lessons on my iPod, so I understood him fine. The first time I told him I spoke Italian, he got flustered and tried to stammer out an apology, but I said I actually thought it was funny. It didn't make him start mumbling his insults in Italian though; not many other people understood him, and they were sometimes confused by my laughter if he said something.

He's a good car. I know he'd take care of me if something ever happened. He's a little paranoid about Decepticons, but usually only when I'm riding with him. I decided a while ago to take it as a compliment that he cares.

... Sideswipe took me on a ride once. Have you ever seen a silver Corvette Stingray doing 150 on a highway, with a girl inside holding the wheel so tight it may break off and yelling that she's going to be sick? It's really a sight.

I have _so many_ traffic tickets to pay. One for "attempted assault and evasion of an officer", and one for speeding. _Ninety miles over the speed limit._ Good thing I'm on America's payroll now. Oh, and Footwheel Scissorfingers is going to be mowing my lawn for a while to pay me back. Ha ha, he can ride but he can't hide.

So yeah. Two months of all that slag, and probably more things than I can count on all appendages - you know, the ones I forgot.

Uhm, now comes the freaky-deaky part.

It was morning, and I'd just gotten dressed, eaten breakfast. I would have just gotten something from McDonald's on the way, but _noooo._ Mirage had explicitly told me that if I were to eat slash drink in his interior, I would _suffer._ And not, like, paper cut suffer. The guy meant business.

I locked my door and twirled around to greet my buddy/guardian, but he was nowhere in sight. I looked around, but saw no giant fire engine red robot near my house. Then I heard noise, and facepalmed. Right - backyard.

"MIRAAAAAAGE!" I'm lucky I'm the last house on my street, a mile from anybody else.

I got to the backyard, and he was busy hacking branches off a tree - and he sure looked upset. Once he cut a branch off, he sliced it all to hell before it even had a chance to hit the ground. Or get anywhere near the grass.

I ran over and rapped my knuckles against his foot. "Hey, see-through! You okay?"

He noticed me, and put his arms down, venting. "Is nothing. Prime opened my comm link - we all have check-up with Ratchet today."

"So?" I shrugged, hiking my purse up. "That doesn't sound too bad. A couple taps on the knee, you get to see if you've gotten taller, and you walk out the door licking a lollipop. Or sucker. I wish Ratchet was _my_ doctor."

He gave me an deadpan look. "Ah, no you don't. He likes to throw wrenches."

"Ah. So he's like a mini-me. Or, you know, a... giant... me... you know what, forget it." I put a hand on my hip. "Are you ready to go or what?"

"_Si._" He transformed, revving his hot little Ferrari engine. "_Hop trovi._"

"Don't mind if I do." I got inside, buckled up, and we were off. "I'm excited for today."

"_Perché?_"

"Because! I'm almost done rebuilding Ironhide. I just have a few fingerplates left to weld on, and then I'm going to whip up some guns for him, since apparently his, like... evaporated into hammerspace. I'll take an early lunch, put together some weapons, and then we can funeral him like he deserves."

He snorted. "I assume you're aware that, ah... you just used 'funeral' as a verb. I'm, ah, thinking that's a grammar no-no?"

"Shut up. You barely speak Italian, let alone English. Don't criticize my native tongue and I won't ask why yours is made up of white noise and some other stuff that sounds like cyborg dolphins."

"_Cagna,_" he growled, accelerating.

"I love you too. _E si sta andando troppo lento. Accelerare!_"

* * *

><p><strong>He was magnificent.<strong>

Ironhide stood almost twenty-two feet tall, and don't ask me how I got a ladder that big to work on him. I'd attached the last fingerplates, and scrubbed a _lot_ of rust off. Once I got it off, I saw him in all his glory. He was gunmetal gray, but that was what happened when a Cybertronian's spark expired, as Ratchet called it. He used to be black.

He had a scar over his left optic, though his optics were offlined forever. I couldn't resist, and as soon as I reached up to run my fingers over it I started to cry. It wasn't like a babbling cry, or wailing. I could barely catch my breath, tears running down my face and a wheezing sound coming from my throat.

"I'm sorry," I managed to rasp, my hand slipping down and landing in the middle of his chest. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more, Ironhide. I'm... _so sorry..._ it's not fair. I didn't know you, but even I know you didn't deserve to die. To... to get covered with rust, and... to fall apart and... it wasn't fair. You didn't deserve to go out like that." I almost stumbled as I climbed down off the ladder, and my eyes were clouded with tears. "I wish... I wish I could have just waved a magic wand and..."

Before I could breathe and continue, I heard a mechanical whirring noise. I looked up, and... _hell._ He was moving. They were stiff, jerky movements, and I could have dismissed them as the Cybertronian equivalent of rigor mortis - if not for what happened next.

His optics _onlined,_ and suddenly I was staring at their electric blue business end.

He moved again, and this time it was fluid and deliberate. He said something in Cybertronian, which I was too petrified to even try and guess its meaning, and then he made to point his cannon at me.

Except he seemed to forget he didn't _have_ any cannons right now.

It took all my strength just to bolt out of the room, scramble up to cling to Optimus's leg, and scream, "_HE'S ALIVE!_"

And you thought it couldn't possibly get any weirder, didn't you?

* * *

><p><em>The last two months I spent with my gang were... I mean, er, it was the greatest time... well, it wasn't totally awful, anyway.<em>

I'd managed to sneak into the scrapyard a few more times, and while my parents thought I was still in Vegas (I can never thank God enough for cell phones), I actually rebuilt Megatron's upper half. I had wondered how he could still be alive if his spark had been destroyed, because clearly it wasn't in his spark chamber - none of us even knew where the thing was. Apparently he hadn't questioned it, just thanked Primus for miracles, but I found it.

Somehow it had gotten lodged in the architecture on the bottom of the bridge. Nobody removed it until I'd constructed a proper spark chamber, and then Laserbeak _veeery_ carefully carried it down. Thanks to Starscream's help, I was able to recreate the polarity and gravity conditions that would naturally exist in a spark chamber.

We had a good system worked out. My laptop could hold a charge for four hours, which coincidentally was the amount of time I could go without food or a restroom. I usually got to work at six, and at ten in the morning, I would go to the library to charge my computer, grab a bite, and then come back at about one. Four hours later I quit working, got dinner, then came back and used Starscream's servo as a bed.

Laserbeak had found a couple Decepticons that had been scattered across the city. One of them was Scalpel, the medic, and wasn't _he_ a little thing. Smaller than _me,_ but that sure didn't stop me from being afraid of him at times. When he was in a bad mood and I just made it worse, he would jump up on my head and scurry around, ripping out strands of hair. It wasn't as bad as some things he could do, but once a claw dug into my scalp and I spent the next half hour cradled in Starscream's servo, clutching my head, bawling, and kicking my feet.

Scalpel did help me in repairing things, though, and he said - though it wasn't the easiest thing to understand - that it was better for him to work on the smaller things and dictate to me what to do with other stuff. Something about hands with opposable thumbs in place of his spidery legs.

Laserbeak also found a hatchling. At first I didn't know what that was when Megatron told us he'd received a comm about it, but hatchlings are the cutest things in the entire universe. I think the first thing I said when I saw it was "Oh my God, a _baby Decepticon!_" Besides Laserbeak, I was the first to hold it. It was a mech, and I didn't want to know how they knew, and it was the size of a preschooler. But I quickly discovered he was affectionate, and when we found out he didn't have a designation, I immediately offered up some suggestions.

Nobody liked Joshua, or Mikey, or Elliot. Megatron was uninterested in giving his opinion on the matter, but he fully demanded I give him a more Cybertronian name. Starscream and I thought long and hard about it, pooling our ideas together while I played airplane with the hatchling, and we finally came up with a good one: Controller.

It came about when Starscream muttered that Megatron was a control freak, and couldn't we just name the hatchling Elliot? I stopped him there, and rolled it around in my mind before actually saying _Controller._ I was a little wary of it, but Starscream said that was perfect. So our little baby Decepticon had been named.

Starscream was gone for hours sometimes now. As I'd learned, energon was the source of, well, energy for them, and usually they had plenty of it on Cybertronian, ready; delicious, and as drinkable as Danimals yogurt. But unfortunately, they _really_ needed it. And Starscream was a Seeker, which meant he as the most efficient for finding the stuff - on Earth, that's a lot harder than it sounds. There were natural deposits here and there, but he had to search. Sometimes it was just that he had to fly and wait for his radar to pick it up.

And now that we had a hatchling, more was needed because they required more. And constant attention, which was why I had to leave Controller with Laserbeak when I was working on the rebuilding process. (Poor thing cried his optics out the first few times I did that.) Yet somehow, Starscream always managed to scrape up what little energon he could find, and it was enough to get them through the day.

But they needed more, if they were ever going to recover from that battle. It had really done a number on them.

So, I got half of Megatron rebuilt. We were all pretty revved up about that - of course, now he had _arms_ to smack me with if I wasn't working fast enough or didn't do something right. Pros outweigh the cons, I guess...

Get it? Ha ha - _Cons?_

... Yeah, I know I'm not that funny.

When Starscream returned from, err, Seeking, he usually made up for the time he'd been gone by talking to me while I was working. I loved the Cybertronian folklore and fairytales - there was the one about Rosewave, the princess who was in stasis lock until her unknown sparkmate interfaced with her (Starscream gave me the PG version); the one about Target, the secret offspring of Primus who had to face a bunch of challenges to be with his lover at the Well of All Sparks; and, uh, there were other ones.

But what I really liked was hearing about Starscream's trine. That was what it was called - three Seekers who were a family and worked as a team. To be a Seeker, you had to be a flier, that was, you had to have a jet mode, and not just any old "groundpounder" (Megatron rolled his optics when Starscream used that term) could scan and use a jet mode. Starscream's trine was made up of him and his brothers, Skywarp and Thundercracker. His sister, Rustbreaker, she was part of another trine, but he wouldn't tell me who else was in it.

I heard a lot about all of them. Skywarp, now he was scared of his own shadow. If he could avoid going into battle, he would; and if he couldn't, he fired his shots while hiding behind someone else. Thundercracker, he thought he was all that and a glass of high-grade energon to wash down his own awesomeness. Starscream said his head was so big, he was surprised TC didn't fall over when he stood up because he was so top-heavy. (I didn't want to be mean, but I couldn't help laughing when he worded it like that.) And Rustbreaker, she was the shy one of the group, but she wasn't a shrinking violet like Skywarp. She was a master of tactical evasion, and in between dodging others' shots, hers would put a machine gun to shame.

And Starscream! He used to be a scientist before he became a soldier. His main deal was alien plants and animals, but he liked experimenting with technology too. That was how he was able to help me build a spark chamber with the correct forces. It also explained how he knew so much about sex and the Cybertronian equivalent: interfacing. (I'm glad I only had to sit through that lesson once, but said lesson was two hours long.)

I could have listened to Starscream talk about his family all day. Tinkering away to build Megatron back up to his former stature, my boombox playing country in the background, Controller's clicks of disappointment as he tried and failed to fly. Some days, I wasn't contemplating what would happen when I was finished. Some days, we were all content, nobody complaining or snapping. Some days it just felt... right. Like this was where I was supposed to be.

After years of criticism, years of being told I was doing this or that wrong, years of not fitting in... it was nice to feel like I was appreciated. That I was doing something _right_ for a change. It didn't _matter_ that they weren't human. There's no other feeling that can top knowing you belong somewhere.

* * *

><p><em>Starscream had been awfully nervy today.<em> I could tell he hadn't gotten a full recharge, because last night I kept feeling him randomly jolt out of it. It woke me up every time, and I hadn't gotten a great night's sleep. He had mostly steered clear of us today, and spent most of the time looking for energon - though he hadn't found much, which made me suspicious. And he was jumpy. Starscream was _never_ jumpy.

Right now he was looking up at the sky, probably wanting to go flying again. Like he hadn't done it enough today. I knew it was where he felt the most at peace, and he felt free when he was flying, but he'd been out looking for energon almost the entire morning. My laptop was about to die, but I didn't want to leave until I knew he was okay and wasn't going to start glitching out of nowhere.

I glanced up from my webpage - miracle I got wireless all the way out here - and looked at him. "Stars?"

He twitched, then looked down. "Oh... what?"

I rubbed my arm, sitting up just a little. "You seem a little... on edge lately. Is something wrong? You can tell me anything, you know. I won't go blabbing, and I won't judge. You know I won't judge, 'cause I ain't no judge."

He chuckled. "Oh, usually that would cheer me up. But not now."

"Why? What's the matter? Come on."

"My trine - Skywarp and Thundercracker. They've located us, and... they're coming. They should be here in less than a-"

"Oh! They're coming for a visit?" For once, I didn't even care that I was interrupting. Two months with these guys'll change you a bit. "That's _great!_ Maybe we should straighten up a little." I pushed myself up and grinned. "You know, position the rocks differently, give Controller a bath... I'm sure Skywarp is going to _love_ him. He's such a little cutie."

"Yes, well... there is _one_ small, insignificant, almost infinitesimal... something I haven't told you."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Hmm? Well, if it _really_ doesn't matter, you don't have to tell me."

All of a sudden, there was a whoosing overhead and out of nowhere, a bunch of jets transformed and landed in front of me in bipedal form. Not _two,_ like there should have been. No, this was more like... three, four... _five_ of them. And one of them was a femme.

I turned to glare at Starscream, but couldn't really gather myself to actually do it. "Stars! _What_ in the name of sparkplugs and live wire is going on here? You said Skywarp and Thundercracker were coming. And unless I'm counting wrong, there's more than two."

He gave me a nervous smile on his faceplates. "Er, well, Stacie, my... _family..._ may be a, er, _bit_ bigger than I... led you to believe."

The teal-and-purple femme stepped forward, shortly followed by the tan one. "You're a pain in the gearshaft, Starscream!" she shouted, kicking at him.

"No he's not!" the tan one replied, then kicked Starscream too.

"H-Hey!" I ran in the middle of them. "What are you guys doing? S-Stop hurting him! I _just_ fixed him! Can we keep him fixed for more than two months?" The femme gave me a nasty glare and I darted behind my buddy. "... P-Please?"

"An _organic?_" The femme snorted air from her vents. "Are you serious, Starscream? You are going to _get it._"

"No he's _not~_" the other one practically sang out.

I gulped, trying to climb up on top of his wing. Oh, that one was a liar...

* * *

><p><strong>... Starscream, you got some explaining TO DO!<strong>

**Ok, here's some Italian translations because Mirage is a jerk and continues to speak foreign in my stories even when I've told him not to:**

**organici stupidi = stupid organics**

**ragazza muta = dumb girl**

**si = yes**

**hop trovi = hop in**

**perché? = why?**

**cagna = bitch (ohh Mirage, you're a jerkface)**

**E si sta andando troppo lento. Accelerare! = And you're going too slow. Speed up!**


	10. I'm Right Here By Your Side

**Whoo! CHAPTER TEN! *blows noisemaker* I love getting to chapter 10 in a story, gives me hope that it shall be finished.**

**And maybe even a sequel.**

**... Nah. I do sequels too much. I think for once, just to switch it up, I'll have a finished story that's... actually... FINISHED. One installment. LOL**

**To celebrate, Stacie's part is exactly 205 words more than Aspen's!**

**... Ok, well, that's just the way it turned out, but take it or leave it.**

**I'VE BEEN WAITING SINCE THIS THING BEGAN TO WRITE THIS PART FOR ASPEN.**

**Also, I love the relationships between A) Aspen and Mirage, and B) Stacie and Skywarp. It's just too funny since I love Mirage and Skywarp, and Aspen and Stacie are perfectly suited as friends for the both of them!**

**IMPORTANT MESSAGE: Ok, so I have a few more ideas for this, but because I want to keep it going for as long as I can, I need a few more to flesh out the plot a little. Also, I need to keep up my promise of romance. XD So, if you have an idea that would go well in this crazy stew, leave it as a review or PM me and I'll see what I can do! (The plus side: beggars can't be choosers. I'll probably use your idea at some point lol.)**

**Also, HOW obvious is it that I've been watching Transformers Animated? Obvious enough for you to hear Tom Kenny, uh, screaming as Starscream?**

**Or, or how about the "visage" joke? Did that tip you off? LOL**

**Megs: Stop staring at me.**

**Screamer: No, YOU stop staring at ME.**

**Megs: Do you really believe I want to spend the rest of eternity gazing at your unsightly visage?**

**Screamer: Trust me, your ****_visage_**** is no picnic either. And your face is ugly too!**

**Me: Screamer, if you were a human you'd be blonde. *runs away***

**Blurr: Thereisnowaythatcouldevenbea possibilityunlessyouwererefe rringtoholoforms - ohIseewhatyoudidthere! *chases Starscream***

**Well, enjoy, my little readerlings! :D**

* * *

><p>Everyone was confused at first, but Optimus - ever the wonderful and compassionate mech - plucked me off his leg and allowed me to collapse onto my ass in his hand. "Aspen? What are you talking about? What's wrong?"<p>

Ratchet poked me. "She must have a glitch, Optimus. Here, let me take her into med bay. I'm sure it's perfectly fixable."

"Ooh, Sparky glitchin'."

"I called it. Didn't I call it?"

"Knew she was gonna crack."

"Yep, jus' a matter'a time."

Mirage took me away and held me up in the air by my shirt collar. "_Non capisco,_ she was fine when I drove her. _Lo guiro!_ What could have caused the glitch?"

"_I'M NOT GLITCHING!_" I shouted, waving my arms and legs around and trying to get away from my guardian. "I FIXED IRONHIDE AND I WAS GONNA LEAVE AND ALL OF A SUDDEN HE JUST CAME BACK TO LIFE LIKE A FUCKING ZOMBIE AND HE TRIED TO SHOOT ME BUT I HAVEN'T REPLACED HIS GUNS YET SO THAT'S WHY I'M NOT DEAD AND CAN TELL YOU!"

...

Mirage walked me over the the Autobot leader. "_Dieci secondi netti,_" he announced, looking like he was holding back a laugh.

I landed back in Optimus's palm. "Ten seconds? She could give Blurr a run for his money - has anybody seen Blurr since he got here, anyway?"

Ratchet quirked an eye ridge. "Did she get into the high-grade? I thought I locked that cabinet. _Sideswipe?_" He glared pointedly at the silver mech.

"What? Don't look at _me!_ I only do stuff that's _funny._" He pointed at me. "_This,_ this isn't funny."

"_Would you guys just listen to me!_" I wailed. "_I'm not making this up! Why the hell would I lie about something like this, it freaked me out!_"

While I was busy throwing a tantrum, there were rumbling footsteps coming from the direction of my off-limits room. Lo and behold, Ironhide raced into the room, and pointed his nonexistent gun at me. "I demand to know what just happened! I thought I was in the Pit!"

I shrieked and scuttled up Optimus's arm to hide on his shoulder. "_I didn't do anything! I don't know what happened! Please don't squash me like a bug!_"

I think _everyone's_ eyes/optics widened at that point. "Ironhide!" Ratchet exclaimed. "But you - this can't be - you were _dead!_"

Ironhide snorted and put his arm down. "And you're a dungeon master masquerading as a doctor, and Mirage is probably gay with a secret mechfriend. Are we done pointing out the obvious?"

I heard Mirage mutter something about "_Pff, essendo morto evidentemente non l'ha cambiato, il bugiardo..._", but I decided to ignore him for now. No point in scolding him, he'd just say/do what he wanted.

With me still on his shoulder, Optimus walked closer. "Ironhide...? Is that really you?"

I squished myself closer near Optimus's audio sensor. "It's him. I think I would know, I've been putting him back together for the lash two months! I told you I wasn't lying!"

"Wait, so..." The scar over Ironhide's optic arched. "I _wasn't_ in the Pit? Then where was I? It was completely black."

I shrugged and crawled down Optimus's arm, feeling just a little safer now that he'd put his arm and imaginary bullets down. "Maybe you were in limbo. You know, neither here nor there. Neither alive nor dead."

Ratchet looked at me. "_What_ happened, Aspen? I need to know everything."

I shook my head, sitting down in the leader's servo. "I... I don't know. I finished everything, and I... touched his scar." I was expecting Ironhide to growl at me for that, but he didn't so I just blushed and moved on. "And then I got upset, and I reached out and... touched... his chest... and when I got to the ground..."

"Where did you touch? Show me exactly."

"Umm..." I reached out and placed my hand in the center of Optimus's chestplates. "Right here, in the middle. Over the place where the plates fit together."

Ratchet quickly offlined then onlined his optics, and they were wide. "_Over the spark chamber?_"

* * *

><p>Not thirty seconds after Ratchet had a mini breakdown, I was whisked to the med bay, and Ironhide had gone outside the base. He didn't come back for the entire thirty minutes I was there, though I did learn some interesting things... about myself.<p>

Optimus was by the berth, and he was the only one who had been allowed in with me. The others were probably crowded around the door, trying to see if they could hear anything through the cracks. Ratchet was in holoform and had taken a sample of my blood, while Optimus remained in bipedal mode and allowed me to wrap my hand around one of his fingers. "Does it still hurt?" he asked, his optics briefly flickering to Ratchet and his data screen.

I shifted; my back hurt already. "A little. But I'm a big girl, I can take it. As long as he doesn't need more," I giggled.

There was a faint ghost of a smile, then Optimus turned to the medic. "Ratchet? Have you found anything out?"

"These readings are ridiculous. I can barely decipher them." He was busy pulling sheets of paper out of the data screen printer, and he looked confused as all hell. "I mean, once I understand what they mean... I _still_ don't know what to think!"

"What do they say?"

He shook his head and turned back to us, waving a sheet. "According to these readings, there is _energon_ in her blood."

Both Optimus and I stared at Ratchet. Just stared. "So..." I pointed at myself. "I'm part alien?"

"She's a halfling?" Optimus echoed.

"No, there isn't any trace of Cybetronian DNA. You're completely human, Aspen, down to the last slagging chromosome..." He slammed the sheets down. "See? This is ridiculous. Even you think so. I mean, don't you think that if she had energon _and_ blood, there'd be _some_ Cybertronian in her? Another thing I can't figure out is why the energon isn't poisoning her if she's not a halfling."

"I have poison in my blood." I hissed. "Why did none of my doctors - oh wait. I haven't been to a doctor since I was freshly spanked right after I was born." I laid back. "In fact, I don't think I've been to a doctor in the last twenty years, give or take. My parents stop taking their kids to the doctor when we're, like, five. They're weird. And I'm hardly ever sick, so I never go on my own."

"That explains why no medical professionals ever caught it." Ratchet scratched his head, looking at the readouts again. "It may not have begun to manifest until you were a youngling."

"A who now?"

"Teenager," he sighed, sitting down. "But it still doesn't explain why the energon isn't causing sepsis in your bloodstream. It's a toxin to humans! There's as much energon in your blood as there is - well, actual blood. It's a fifty/fifty ratio, almost exactly, from that one sample. It's unbelievable. I don't see how you're not _dead_ right now."

"You know, I didn't see it before, but you have a terrible bedside manner. Wanna throw a wrench at me? Mirage told me it's how you relieve the stress of having patients."

"It's funny how you're naive enough to think I won't," Ratchet mumbled, turning back around. "Look, anyway, I think the energon and her own blood had some sort of... reaction."

"Reaction?" Optimus repeated.

"Yes. Because she's got energon in her without Cybertronian DNA to go along with it. It certainly isn't predictable, as it's never happened before, but... it seems to produce an effect mimicking the Matrix of Leadership. That's what allowed Ironhide to come back online, because she touched over his spark chamber."

I pushed myself up on my elbows. "Then how come that didn't happen when I first touched him?"

"Well, from what I can tell, the effect is connected to your emotions." He pushed his glasses up, then crossed his arms. "Back there, all of your anger, frustration, and sadness reached a high point, and apparently it was high enough to trigger the merge of energon and blood to form the effect."

"But how did it happen if all my blood's still in my body? Wouldn't it have to touch him?"

"Now, see, _there's_ another thing I can't figure out. I'm thinking it might be the energon. In this case, it would be able to naturally draw _itself_ out, but it wouldn't be able to form the necessary reaction without the combination of your blood."

"Perhaps," Optimus offered, "it's much like our procreation, but in one body. The energon may have also allowed the blood to draw out with it."

"There isn't anything on my hands, though."

Ratchet groaned, letting his head fall into his hands. "I need more time to figure all this out. Look, why don't you two go for now? I'll call you back if I need anything else. _Jolt!_" he called, into the other room. "Come in here and shock me, it's going to be a long night!"

I raised an eyebrow as Optimus helped me off the berth. "By 'shock', please tell me he doesn't mean-"

"Electrically. It's a bit of a... dependence he's developed."

"Oh, good. But we're still getting outta here."

He carried me out of the bay and set me down on the floor. "What are you going to do now, Aspen?"

I straightened myself out and saluted, then began to walk toward the door. "I'm going to go talk to Ironhide."

I marched myself outside and saw Ironhide leaning against the building, looking up at the sky. I briefly wondered if these guys could look at the sun without going blind, but I shook it away in favor of deeper thoughts and walked over to lean myself up against the wall beside him. "Hey, 'Hide," I said softly, trying to make my entrance as subtle as possible. (Big stretch, I know.)

At first I thought he hadn't heard me, but after a minute he looked down at me. I noticed the look in his optics was less rough than it had been before. "What is your name?"

I took a step closer. "Aspen Singletary. You'd be surprised how many nicknames you can get out of that, by the way. Wheelie and Leadfoot call me Aspie, and everyone else either calls me As or Pen. Or just Aspen, because Optimus is respectful."

"Aspen. I think I'll call you Asp. A little thing, but dangerous if she has enough fire in her." He reached down and offered up his servo. "Climb on."

I did, and he lifted me up so we were at eye level with each other. "You want to talk?" I asked, sitting down and curling myself around one finger.

"I don't know what else to say but thank you." With his other hand he stroked a finger down my shoulder. "This life means the world to me. When we were betrayed, I assumed everyone else would be killed. But my greatest friends are still here, and even if I hadn't gone to the Pit, it would have been agony waiting for them."

I hugged his finger. "Aww, well... I didn't know what I was even doing."

"No." He shook his helm. "I don't believe that. You may not have known that what you did was going to bring me back, but you _knew_ what you were doing. And I thank you for it. There are not many who would give scrap about someone like me."

"Hey, you're not so bad. Ratchet's worse than you. He just threatened to throw a wrench at me. The scary part is, if I said one more annoying thing, I think I would've made an honest mech out of him."

He chuckled. "Well, I'm a bit... what is it the humans say? Rough around the edges."

"That doesn't mean you deserved to die like that." I scurried off his servo, up to his shoulder. "Everybody loved you. I could see it. I don't think it would have ever been the same for them if you weren't here." I nestled myself near his audio receptor. "Just because you're a little tough on the outside, that doesn't mean you don't have a good spark. I can tell you're a good mech. And I'm usually not wrong about these things."

"You _are_ a strong-willed one, aren't you?" He collected me back up in his hand, and brought me closer to his face. "I will never forget what you did for me, Aspen. From now on, you and I share a bond."

"Ratchet told me that's the equivalent of robo-marriage."

"Why, that old...! I mean... there are different types of bonds. _That_ one he told you about is called a sparkbond and is for sparkmates." He moved his servo, and I moved accordingly, till I was sitting with my legs dangling, on one outstretched finger. "The one you and I share... it's different. It's not a sparkmates' bond, and it's not a family bond. It's... somewhere in between. Similar to the bond between a guardian and their charge."

"Like what me and Mirage have, you mean? Yeah, I think I get it." I flipped one leg over the other side, leaned back, and then amused myself with hanging upside down from his finger. Then I grinned at him. "We're friends."

He smiled at me, and let me stay there. "You saved my life, Asp. We are not sparkmates, but we are more than friends."

* * *

><p>"I can't watch! I can't watch!"<p>

The one I could clearly recognize as Skywarp threw his servos over his optics and began shaking. I wanted to do something, but what _could_ I do? If I stayed between those two and Starscream, I'd get crushed!

Immediately, just before the femme's servo collided with Starscream's faceplates, I jumped out of the way, landing on the ground and rolling. I quickly got up as the liar charged my friend, and would have been stepping on me if I stayed there. I ran to the side and darted behind Skywarp's leg. "_Stop it, stop it, stop it!_" I whimpered, clinging to the metal.

"G-Get off!" Skywarp cried, shaking his leg.

I held tight, and screamed. "_Make it sto-o-o-o-op! I'm gonna be sick!_"

"Let go, you're scary!" he shouted, still shaking his leg.

"So are you!" I retorted, wrapping myself around him even tighter.

All of a sudden he stopped, then bent down and picked me up. He was careful about it, and still trembling, grasping my collar with two fingers like he was afraid I was going to suddenly attack. "... I'm not scary. I'm a perfectly nice guy. You, _you're_ scary! You're so little, who knows what kind of my systems you could get into and chew through?"

I couldn't help blurting out a giggle. "I don't eat metal!"

The confused look on his faceplates was almost too much. "You, um... you don't?"

"Of course not! Silly bot. If I ate your wires I'd probably die of poison, if electrocution didn't get me first. Besides, I wouldn't climb inside you anyway. I don't like small spaces."

"Oh... so you... _don't_ have the insatiable urge to feast on my delicious circuitry?"

I almost burst out laughing. "No way! Who gave you that idea?"

"Ramjet told me humans were techno-vampires. He's the one who has his pede shoved up Starscream's aft right now."

"He's a liar. I don't think you should listen to him. Most humans don't eat technology. And those that do... well, they're weirder than I am. I'm not _that_ weird."

"Oh... okay."

"Do you, um, think we should maybe help Stars?"

"W-What?" He dropped me, but thankfully I landed on a particularly bouncy patch of grass and didn't hurt my head. "Oh no, I-I'm not getting between Slipstream and her grudges! There are some lessons you don't need to learn more than once!"

"Yeah, well, I don't think I've learned that lesson." He tried to pull me back, but I rushed over to grab Starscream's leg. "C-Come on you guys - y-you don't wanna beat him up!"

The liar, Ramjet, snickered, but really made no move to stop. "She's right, Slipstream! We don't wanna beat him up."

The femme, Slipstream, looked down at me and scoffed before smacking my buddy across the face. "You idiot! _Yes we do!_"

"I didn't know that!" Ramjet delivered another kick to Starscream's aft.

"Ow! Hey!" Starscream stumbled back, nearly knocking me over in the process. "Have some decency, there's an organic femme here!"

"Won't be for long." Before I could even get back on my feet, Slipstream's arm was pointed at me, and it was glowing with what appeared to be a laser blast. "Let me just take aim, and..."

I yelped and curled into a ball, throwing my hands over my head. "N-No, please! Don't shoot!"

"Don't worry, we won't!" I heard Ramjet exclaim. Wow. Way to make me feel better, liar.

I heard a whoosh, and suddenly I was scooped up into somebody's servo. Their other servo was on top, and at first I thought it was Starscream, rushing from the danger of his siblings to rescue his little human pet. But when the top servo was removed and I looked up, I was surprised to see Skywarp clutching me to his chestplates, still shaking and probably close to tears by this point.

Slipstream growled and pointed her laser at him. "Give it back, Skywarp. _Right. Now._"

He looked down at me, scared as anything, then made a noise that sounded like he was swallowing. "N... No."

She snarled. "_Yes._ Before I blast _you_ along with it, you rusty coward!"

"N-No," he repeated, holding me closer. "I-I won't let you h-hurt my new friend. Y... You're a b-bully, Slipstream. A-And she's not an _it,_ sh-she's a _her._ Sh-She was scared too, so... so I-I'm not going to let you hurt her."

She hissed, but disengaged her laser. "You know what? _Fine,_ you leaking little scrap heap. Keep your toy. I hope it chokes you while you're in recharge." And she stalked off, though nobody followed her.

We all stood there for a minute, then Skywarp gave me a worried look. "Y-You wouldn't..."

"Wouldn't even _dream_ of it, Skywarp. Can, uh... can you put me down?"

"Oh... s-sure. U-Um, sorry." He carefully lowered me to the ground and I hopped off onto the grass. "I-I don't know w-what came over me..."

"It's okay! You probably just saved my life. Thanks a lot." I walked over to Starscream, who'd finally been given a break and was now lying on the ground, venting heavily. "Stars! Hey, are you alright?"

"I... I've been dented!" he wailed. Good to know he wasn't freaking out. "_In so many places! Femme, you have the capacity to fix this, right?_"

I looked up from my Seeker friend and pouted. "Man, she traumatized the poor thing." I glanced up at the other two, the blue one and the orange one, who'd just been standing there staring up till now. "Is she always like that?"

The blue one scoffed. "She is far inferior to me. _I_ can control my temper."

I giggled. "You must be Thundercracker. Stars told me about you."

"Is that how you knew my name?" Skywarp asked, sitting down by the bridge.

"Yup. But, um, I guess he didn't mention Slipstream or Ramjet, or you," I added, pointing at the orange one.

He grinned, bowing. "Sunstorm at your service. I am humbled to stand before such a rare and delicate creature as yourself."

Starscream briefly raised his head. "Shut up, you kiss-aft. You'll make us all regurgitate." Then he resumed mourning over his new dents.

I swallowed, backing up toward Skywarp. I was always wary of anyone who seemed a little _too_ nice, ever since... **(1)** "I, um, hi. I-I guess I should introduce myself to everyone at once... I'm Stacie Woods. My friends call me Stace... but I prefer Stacie... u-um, you know, actually, you guys can just call me whatever you want..."

"_Anastacia?_" Sunstorm chuckled. "Is that not what you were originally named with? I just looked at a website and it listed _Stacie_ as a shorter version of that name."

"Uh, yeah... I don't really use my full name, but I mean, if you want..."

"Yes! A beautiful and elegant name is only proper for such a lovely visage, if I may say so."

Skywarp nearly choked. "S-Sunstorm! D-Don't talk about her like th-that!"

The flattery was instantly forgotten as I started laughing. "Skywarp!"

"W-What? He was referring to you c-crudely!"

"Warp. I don't think 'visage' means what you think it means."

"O-Oh..."

I shook my head and looked down at Starscream again. They kinda _did_ bang him up pretty bad. "Hmm..." I glanced over at Megatron. "Um, Lord Megatron, do, uh, I mean, would you mind if I fixed these dents before doing any more work on rebuilding?"

He offlined his optics. "Do what you please, femme. I'm going into recharge. I can't tolerate much more of this idiocy right now."

I shrugged. "Have a nice nap, I'm sure I'll be working on you by the time you come out of it."

He said nothing more to me, and I assumed he fell back into recharge.

"I'll be right back, Starscream." I gave him a smile, then stood up. "Hey Skywarp? Follow me a second, there's somebody I want you to meet."

He followed me, over to where Laserbeak was keeping an eye on Controller. The little Seeker was yet again trying to fly, but the most he could get was about two inches off the ground. He wasn't ready yet; Starscream would have to teach him when he was ready, but he said that Seekers usually couldn't access their flight systems until they were at least five stellar cycles old. They would be at the entering the sparkling phase then, and Starscream said our little hatchling was _so close_ to his fifth birthday.

That was also when they would start talking, hopefully. I was nearly in anguish waiting for the day when that would happen. But Starscream said you can't rush any of these things, and everything would come when it was time for it to come.

(Decepticons don't care about their young, my foot. You ought to see how much of a mother hen Starscream is around the baby...)

I knew that when Controller noticed me coming, he would always let out a stream of clicks and scamper over to me. I knelt down, and when he jumped I caught him tightly in my arms as he started to lick my face. (It surprised me the first time - okay, okay, it scared me silly - but Starscream just snickered at me and explained that it was the way hatchlings show affection, like a human baby blowing a raspberry on your cheek or trying to give you a kiss.) "Aw hey there, did you miss me? Huh, did you miss your mommy?" I giggled, nuzzling my nose against his nasal plating. "Mommy missed you too!"

"Is that a _sparkling?_" Skywarp sounded positively awestruck. "Wow! I haven't seen many. They don't bite, do they?"

"Oh, only when their dental components are coming in." Controller scurried around me until he was on top of my head, and hissed at Skywarp. "Hey now." I took him off and cradled him in my arms. "I think he's got most of his, so he doesn't really bite. He's usually pretty well-behaved, isn't he, Laserbeak?"

"Oh yes. The only thing he ever does without you is try to take flight."

"Yeah, he's a good boy. His name's Controller. He's almost done with his hatchling stage, I think." I looked up at Skywarp, then blinked. I was reluctant, but... "Do you, um, want to hold him?"

"O-Oh!" Skywarp tapped his fingertips together, looking nervous again. "I-I've never held a sparkling. I w-wouldn't want to... _hurt_ him..."

I smiled, standing up and holding Controller out toward my new friend. "You won't."

He was definitely about as hesitant to take the hatchling from me as I was to let go of him, but slowly, surely, Skywarp reached down with one servo and let me place Controller in his palm. I felt a little anxiety come over me as he lifted Controller up toward his faceplates, but I just swallowed my fear. I knew there was no way Skywarp would allow any harm to come to the baby - especially with me watching him like hawk. (No offense, Laserbeak.)

Finally, after a minute of just staring at him, I saw Skywarp's lip components twitch upward, and I could see a less frightened gaze in his optics. His whole air seemed to relax a little bit, in fact. "He... He's small."

I grinned. "He's only half my size, and you picked me up, didn't you?"

"Yes..." He laughed a little when Controller rubbed his cheek against his palm, seeming content to curl up there and take a nap. "D-Does he, um, need to recharge?"

"He might, he's been up a while." For a minute we were all quiet, and the music from my boombox seemed louder than ever to fill the gap.

"_The tricky thing is yesterday, we were just children_

_Playing soldiers, just pretending_

_Dreaming dreams with happy endings_

_In backyards, winning battles with our wooden swords_

_But now we've stepped into a cruel world_

_Where everybody stands and keeps score_

_Keep your eyes open_

_Everybody's waitin' for you to break down_

_Everybody's watchin' to see the fallout_

_Even when you're sleepin', sleepin'_

_Keep your eyes open_

_Keep your eyes open_

_Keep your eyes... open_

_So here you are, two steps ahead and..._"

"I think he needs something." Skywarp's brow creased, unsure of what he was supposed to do. "W-What do I do?"

"He might be hungry," I suggested. "Hey Stars, do we have any energon available?"

"You've got to be kidding me!" He didn't move. "I just fed him two joors ago!"

"_I_ would get hungry in that time," I giggled. "And besides, you're not supposed to make a schedule. You feed them when they're hungry, not when they're expected to be hungry."

"Fine, then there is none."

I heard Thundercracker scoff. "Who spit in your high-grade this morning, Starscream?"

"_YOUR FEMME CREATOR, AFTWIPE!_"

"We have the same femme creator, you slagger!"

"No we don't!"

"_Everybot's had enough of YOU, Ramjet!_" I heard Starscream hiss.

I frowned, looking up at Skywarp. "Um, well... maybe he's _not_ hungry."

"Hey, idiot mechs!" I heard Slipstream coming this way. "My radar's picking up other Decepticons! Let's get going!"

"I'm dented!"

"You're still going!"

"Go, Stars," I called. "I'll fix you when you get back, I promise."

I heard the noise of transforming, then the sound of jets zooming off. It sounded like all of them had flown off at once, but... "Get your aft in alt mode, Skywarp!"

Skywarp started trembling again and looked over at Slipstream before looking down at me. Clearly he was torn between listening to his sister and staying here to possibly be slagged when she got back.

I spun around, but the look on the femme's faceplates prevented me from taking any actual steps. "U-Um, I need his help here."

She raised an eye ridge, though it didn't make her look any less angry. "With _what?_"

"He, he, um, uh, he needs to look after Controller while I'm building."

"I thought you had the bird-brained annoyance for that."

Just when I thought all hope was lost and Skywarp was going to have a panic attack, Laserbeak saved the day. "I can't _wash_ the hatchling," he spoke up, flapping his wings. "I'm not exactly equipped for that."

She snarled at me, but transformed and flew off without another word.

I let out a breath and glanced over at Laserbeak, then at Skywarp. "That... was a close one."

* * *

><p><strong>Ah... here are more Italian translations, because Mirage is a jerk-bot.<strong>

**Non capisco = I don't understand**

**lo guiro! = I swear!**

**dieci secondi netti = ten seconds flat**

**Pff, essendo morto evidentemente non l'ha cambiato, il bugiardo = Pff, being dead clearly didn't change him, the liar**

**ALSO...**

**(1) = SINCE WHAAAAT?! Don't worry readerlings, all shall be explained in time... just trying to give the girls more of a background, and I immediately got some inspiration for Stacie's...**

**Thanks for reading! Now, fill out that neat little form at the bottom, leave some feedback, and maybe an idea if you have it! Lurvs you all! ^^**


	11. Learning to Take Comfort in the Night

**So, LOL. Anybody else think I'm obnoxious with the posting? Didn't I just update this two days ago? XD**

**Err, anyway. I think that I shall have a new rule from now on because this chapter is way too long: if either of the girls' segments average more than 2000 words, I'm going to post them as separate chapters. -_- These ones are about 3000 words each, so... have fun reading the lengthy-ness.**

**OK, IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: So, we obviously know who Stacie's newest friend is, and I have the next one planned for Aspen as well. Now, my question for you guys is... who should be the next buddy for each girl? Technically Stacie has a few more because of Screamer's trine, but I have decided to count them as one would count a trine. So, therefore, two trines, and two "buddies". Yes, I did almost get an F in math the year before last...**

**SO ANYWAY. LET THE VOTING COMMENCE. Here are the choices.**

**For Aspen: 1. Jolt (clearly she's met him, but will she get buddy buddy with him now that - well, read her part and you'll see); 2. Prowl (again, met him, but who knows? maybe they'll get closer because they don't like each other right now...) 3. any other Autobot you can think of who's not in this story yet.**

**For Stacie: 1. Soundwave (maybe he'll finally come down from space and stop being so antisocial); 2. Barricade (I've seen a couple of stories that turn him into an Autobot, but for now I think he should stay a 'Con); 3. any other Decepticon you can think of who's not in this story yet.**

**OK! So when you review, please vote for one for Aspen and one for Stacie. If you want to suggest one, choose option 3 and name your 'Bot or 'Con!**

***blink* Oh hey! NOW I finally get why they call the Transformers convention BotCon! Get it? 'Bot? 'Con? LOLOLOL THAT'S FREAKING HILARIOUS IT'S A STEALTH PUN.**

**Oh, and, uh... I think the next two chappies are going to be separate because it'll involve a lot of one-on-one with the leaders and our heroines. Sooo, chapter... 13... is hopefully when I'm going to have Stace reveal her background secret of secretdom.**

**Also, I STILL ACCEPT IDEAS. LET ME PICK YOUR BRAINS. MUAHAHAHA.**

**You may notice I gave the chapters actual names. They're the lyrics to a song called "What Lies Beyond" by Rebecca Angel. It's from a game called Date Warp - love that game! - and I think it fits Aspen and Stacie's situations. GO LISTEN TO IT. LOL.**

**Well, enjoy this one! Aspen's is a little emotional - OK, A LOT - and Stacie's is actually a little emotional too. Either way, you MAY want to have the tissue box at hand, just a warning.**

**Also... wouldn't it be the MOST EPIC THING EVER to hear Peter Cullen say "nutbar" in Optimus's voice? XD A little break-the-humor tension, but... it IS relevant!**

**READ ON.**

* * *

><p>Thankfully nobody got a wrench thrown at them for the rest of the day, and I didn't get asked anything by Ratchet. Although, surprisingly, <em>Jolt<em> threatened Skids and Mudflap with a wrench. Then he disappeared back into Med Bay and we all heard Ratchet shout, very clearly, "This is a _shocking_ experience!"

Well, I hope I never have to go back in there for the rest of my life. Anybody else? Also, I'm still afraid of the wrench to this day.

While Sideswipe and my bolt-brained guardian were outside racing, I stayed inside and built weapons for Ironhide. It was actually kind of fun, because he could actually tell me what his other guns looked like so I could get it right. While I was working, he told me about his times back in training camp.

He had plenty of funnier stories; like when one of the newer recruits accidentally fell into the water trap on the obstacle course, and their commander had been standing a bit too close. They all got an extra 50 transform-ups for that, he said.

But mostly he talked about training with his friends - Ratchet had been in the same group, while evidently Optimus had been in a group that, if this had been high school, would have been freshmen, while Ironhide's group were juniors. Despite it, Ratchet and 'Hide had welcomed Optimus into their circle of friends for the time they were there before graduating. (But not before once stuffing him in his locker. Apparently they were pulling a prank and he'd been a witness. He got blamed for it since he was the only one found, but they did apologize.)

They had other friends too. One called Gearburner, and a femme named Shortflare. He said usually they were given codenames by their commander when they arrived, and those were their names from then on till they went offline. Ironhide got his because none of his group could pierce his armor; Ratchet got his because he was good with a wrench; Gearburner because he was impossibly fast; and actually, Ironhide said that I reminded him of Shortflare, since she got her name thanks to her height and because she fought back with everything she had. (Just like me, he said. I decided not to take offense at the "short" part and just take it as a compliment.)

Clearly the universe could make _nothing_ easy for me, because it looked like the guns would take about half as long to build as he had. Ya know why? _He has a lot of guns, and they're all big fucking guns._ And I'd just planned to make their likeness, but that was before he came back to life. Now he wanted them to actually be _functional_ so he could kick some random Decepticreep ass. He obviously doesn't know the meaning of the phrase "take it easy".

It wasn't really a bad day. Ironhide seemed disappointed when five rolled around, since I'd told him that was when I usually left. He even picked me up and let me hug him round the neck before I went outside.

I hadn't spoken to Mirage, just walked out of the building and leaned against the wall. The sunset would be coming soon, but I didn't even care that it was the end of my day. I felt happier than I had in a long time. Being with the 'Bots was great before, but it felt like something had always been missing.

That something, evidently, was Ironhide. Now the gang was all here, and I fit in perfectly. And then, as I was thinking and looking up at the sky, trying to make sense of this swelling feeling in my chest, it hit me.

I didn't want to leave.

I wanted to stay here, at the base, with all my new friends. I couldn't just leave them, not after what we'd already gone through together. I mean, I know it wasn't much, but it had been two months. I've heard of people falling in _love_ in less time than that, and I think in two months I'd managed to fall into friendship, if that makes sense. I didn't want to leave Bumblebee, or Sam, or Carly, or Skids, or Mudflap, or Sideswipe, or Blurr, or Wheelie, or Brains, or Ratchet, or Mirage, or Ironhide. Hell, I didn't even want to leave the Wreckers, assholes though they were. And I _especially_ didn't want to leave-

"Aspen? Are you alright? I've been calling your name."

I snapped my head up, and I felt my heart just _melt_ when I saw Optimus standing there. He was looking down at me, genuine concern in his optics; I tell you, I almost burst out crying right then. I certainly didn't spend as much time with him as, say, Mirage... but there was something about him that I didn't want to leave. I wanted to spend more time with him, get to know him better, and... and... frag, I didn't even know _what_ I wanted to do with him except stay with him. I just needed more time to soak up his touch, figure out what this stupid feeling was...

"_Aspen!_ For spark's sake... do you need me to take you to Ratchet?"

I blinked again, and hadn't even realized I'd been staring at his face. "I... no, I... I'm sorry, what?"

To my surprise, he chuckled. "You have this blank look in your eyes, Aspen. Want to tell me what's bothering you?"

I looked back down, kicking at a pebble with my shoe. "I... don't know. You probably wouldn't understand anyway."

"Oh, I see then." I didn't assume he'd let it go so easily, and he looked about for a moment. "Where is Mirage?"

"I dunno. Inside, probably. Acting all Narcissus and falling in love with his own reflection."

"Shouldn't he be out here, waiting to take you home?"

It probably hadn't been intentional, and it may have just been the way he worded it, but that was a record for how quickly anyone had broken me down. I didn't even wait for my ass to hit the dirt before I started crying. I threw my hands over my face and I couldn't stop even as the tears soaked my hands and fell through my fingers. I couldn't even manage to choke out anything about why I was crying.

Without saying a word at first, I felt the cool metal of his servo under me, picking me up into the air. The metal cupped beneath me, and another finger was placed on my back, gently stroking but barely moving. After a moment of this, he spoke again, and even though his voice was quieter, it still came out in a soft rumble, surrounding me like a protective, unbreakable bubble. "_Now,_ do you want to tell me?"

I realized I was getting his hand all wet by crying like this, but I still couldn't stop. It took me a minute, but I finally calmed down enough to kind of speak, though I was still hyperventilating every other word. "I-I don't w-want to _go home,_" I sobbed, crawling over to one of his fingers on the servo I lie on and wrapping myself around it.

"Why not? Is something in your home frightening you?"

"N-No." I gasped in a breath, which probably sounded like I was dying, and sniffled before looking up at him. "I d-don't want to l-leave you guys! After I'm d-done fixing Ironhide's weapons - I-I'll have to leave! _And I don't want to!_" I felt as though I was acting like a bratty little kid, and that was what I didn't want to do. I was being selfish, I was being the very thing these guys didn't like about humanity.

He patted my back with his finger. "Aspen... you don't _have_ to leave. Not if that is against what you wish to do."

"B-But once I finished 'Hide's weapons... there's... there won't b-be anything left for me to do." A fresh round of tears started up. "Th-They won't let me stay if there's nothing left for me to repair."

"If what you desire is to stay," his voice got even quieter, till it was just a little tremble through me, "we will make sure you stay."

I swallowed and looked up at him, but I could barely see through my tears. "R-Really? You can... You can do that, Optimus?"

"Of course. Ratchet is always complaining that he needs another assistant. Jolt is qualified in electrical repairs, but Ratchet does the others himself. Sometimes it's too much for him... he keeps saying he could use someone else." His finger caressed down from my head to my back. "Someone smaller. Fix the injuries that are not necessarily serious but uncomfortable."

I took in a few shuddery breaths, as he continued to rub circles across my back. "I guess I can take that as your _subtle_ suggestion that I submit me resumé to the Doc."

"A rather good paraphrase of it, anyway." He moved his finger, then reached over and put it under my chin, tilting my face up. "Aspen, we all appreciate what you're doing. And beyond your impressive skills, we all enjoy your company."

I shook my head, sighing and managing to at least sit up, rubbing at my eyes. "Why does everyone keep _saying_ that?" I whispered. "You guys are, like... wow. And I'm just all... meh. What the hell is so special about _me_ that you want to keep me around?"

"The same thing that is special about Sam." He smiled at me, and I think that if he could have hugged me without hurting me, he would have. "You are... often..."

"A complete, unparalleled nutbar."

"Well, yes." I could tell he was struggling not to laugh again. "But I believe that the human saying is 'actions speak louder than words'. With every action that you have done... washing us... rebuilding Ironhide and... then giving him a second chance... repairing us... everything you have done over the past two months... you have been _screaming._ And in those screams we have all heard the echo of a person who is the embodiment of what we fight for."

I scoffed, swinging my legs over the side of his servo and leaning against his thumb as I looked up at him. "Yeah? You're fighting for... for a mentally unstable... vindictive... _childish..._ insane little mechanic?"

"No. Well, yes. But we are also fighting for a spiritual... emotional... kind... unique human femme." He tilted my head up again. "Also, I believe she doesn't give herself enough credit. She may seem like a... _nutbar..._ at first, but the more time you spend with her, the more you realize that she is a strong, caring individual." The corners of his lip components quirked up just a little. "I think you would like her."

I laughed, then motioned him to take me closer. I almost collapsed against his faceplates, but then I stabilized myself and looked up, right into his optics as they cast a warm, muted glow over me. "Optimus. I know that... I've gotten really close to a lot of 'Bots here. And it may look like some of them are the only things keeping me sane. But..." I took a deep breath, blinking away more tears, and swallowed my inhibitions. I held fast and pressed my lips against his cheek, closing my eyes. I felt a few tears slip out despite my best efforts, landing on the plating. "The one who's really keeping me sane is _you._"

"Aspen..." It looked like he was torn between staring at me and staring out at the sunset. He probably wanted to say something, but it seemed like he didn't even know _what_ he wanted to say.

I was faster than his processor. "No, Optimus. These... I mean... I've never had somebody sit there and just _listen_ to me before." I gently rubbed my fingers against his cheek, keeping mine against the rest of the plate after I'd kissed it. "If it wasn't for that, at the end of every day... I... all that insanity and emotion would have built up, and... I really _would_ have gone crazy by now. All this is... almost unbelievable. Sometimes I want to wait for myself to wake up, and then you listen to me, and... then I'm glad it's not a dream." I started crying again and just managed to rasp out the last, "Thank you... _so much..._"

"Aspen..." he repeated, and he'd been looking out at the sunset, watching the orange and purple swirl with each other and bleed into glassy pink. He didn't talk yet, and for a moment I was afraid I'd crossed the line. I get carried away so easily it's laughable. Maybe I'd offended him. But his voice finally came. "If I can be utterly honest with you... I think I could listen to whatever you say for the rest of all time. And, if you don't mind my saying so..." He offlined his optics. "Sometimes I do not even pay attention to what you are talking about. You are passionate, and simply listening to your voice relaxes me."

I giggled. "Well, the things I _say_ aren't really as important as just getting them _out_ of me. I could care less if you could tell me what I was saying. That's why _I'm_ the one saying it. It's just nice that you... _listen_ to what I'm saying, even if you don't really listen to the _words._ Not a lot of other people want to sit there and listen to me go on. I want you to know that... it means a lot to me that you care enough to listen."

For a few seconds we just stood there, my body against his cheek, with his finger somewhere between my hair and my back. Then he suddenly said, "So of course we're talking again tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow's Saturday. I'm not supposed to work."

"Oh. Of course, enjoy your day-"

"And since _I'm_ not supposed to work, I don't think you should either." I drew myself away and wiped the last few tears from my eyes. "What do you say, Optimus? A whole day of no responsibilities. Just you, me, and some dirt roads."

He vented. "Aspen, I don't know... even with you gone, I have other duties here."

I rolled my eyes. "You told me, Megatron is dead. He's the leader of the Decepticons, right? And you slagged most of the other ones anyway. What are a few ragtag little cans of evil-flavored soda going to do without somebody to organize their sorry selves?"

"Well, yes, you have a point. But Ratchet picked up a couple of new Autobots' signatures coming through Earth's atmosphere... we were going to go greet them tomorrow."

I reached down and smacked my whole hand over his lip components, instead of just a finger. "_So,_ let Ratchet handle it then. I'm sure he and Prowl and Bumblebee can work together for _one_ day. Prowl's, you know, by the book - if you tell him that I, as a mechanic and official Autobot-medic-in-training, gave you an order to take some time off, he would respect it. He certainly wouldn't go sticking his nasal plating in my business after my threat with that screwdriver last week."

"I... well..."

"Come _on._" I moved my hand, tracing up and down on his cheek. "I can tell you need a break, with everything that's been going on. Please? For me."

Before he could answer, we heard the noise of transforming and looked down to see my arrogant little Ferrari 458 Italia, revving his engines. His right back door popped open, and clearly he wanted to get going. "_Vieni anche tu?_" His voice was tight and harsher than normal.

Optimus put me down and I was about to climb in, with my hand on the door. Then I peeked back out and gave the Autobot leader a sneaky grin. "See you tomorrow, Optimus, be at my place at nine o'clock sharp!" Before he had a chance to argue more, I hopped in, quickly buckled, and gave Mirage permission to floor it.

* * *

><p>"'<em>Ci vediamo domani'? <em>_**'Nove in punto'?**_" Mirage hissed, and I swear if I could see his holoform his knuckles would be white from clutching the wheel. "What did you, ah, mean by that, _Cenere?_"

I rolled my eyes, kicking my shoes off. "Don't get jealous, Mirage. Optimus just needs some time off, and it was _me_ who offered. So don't start it; you're my guardian, not my pimp. You don't have to get so protective. Geez, what's up your tailpipe today?"

He growled. "_The Twins._"

"Skids and Mudflap?"

"_Nooo,_ Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. _Di corso_ Skids and Mudflap!"

"Calm down, Mirage." I rubbed at the seat material, which usually calmed him down a little if he was upset. "I know they can be idiots sometimes-"

"_A volte?!_"

"- But they're _our_ idiots. You just wait till someone assigns them to you for backup, they will come through for you."

"That will be the day," he snorted.

"You're awful."

"So are you! Why didn't you tell me you were going to be with Prime tomorrow?"

"Because it was kind of improv. Like, we just decided it now."

He sped up a little. "Well, I... I saw a flyer for a, ah, drive-in movie, and I... wanted to take you tomorrow. Since it's our day off and all. We haven't done anything special lately, I just figured you might want to..."

"Aww, _Dino,_" I teased, knowing that only I could get away with using his nickname when he was already in a bad mood. "You _do_ have a spark under all that Italian fury."

He mumbled something deliberately so that I couldn't hear it.

I reached forward and patted the passenger seat. "I think that sounds like a great idea. What time is it?"

"Eight."

"At night?"

"_Si._"

"Good! I think maybe Optimus and I will be driving around for a while. You know, just take it slow. By then he should feel like stopping and taking a rest. You, um... you don't mind if he comes along, do you?"

"_Certo che no,_ as long as you come into _my_ alt mode."

"Don't play clingy boyfriend with me, Mirage. There's enough of me to go around."

"But you'll be with _him_ all day! Why wouldn't you even have time for me _then?_"

I rubbed the roof. "Aww, Mirage, you're my _guardian._ I will _always_ have time for you. Listen, how about I climb out of Optimus's alt mode and lie on his hood so you can at least see me? I'll get up every so often and give you some attention. And I'll let _you_ drive me home."

"_Il lungo cammino?_"

"Whichever way you want to take me. If you want, we'll spend the _whole night_ driving."

"_Mi piacerebbe,_ we haven't done that in a while."

"So do you want to? It's a weekend, we can sleep in on Sunday."

"But you'll be driving with Prime all day. Wouldn't you... ah... get tired of it?"

"You're so sweet, worrying about me." I leaned forward and completely hugged the front passenger seat. "Have I ever told you you're the best guardian _ever?_ Just don't worry about it, okay? Whatever you want to do, that's what I want to do."

I felt him relax a little bit, the air got less dense. "_Sono contento che io sono il tuo tutore,_" I heard him say through the radio, probably quieter than he'd ever spoken to me. "_Non credo che potrei sopportare chiunque altro._"

I smiled and relaxed into the seat. "_Sono contento anche,_" I replied, closing my eyes. "_Vorrei guidare chiunque altro pazzo._"

* * *

><p>Progress was being made. Since I'd found most of the parts of Megatron's leg, I just had to start welding them together, though sometimes I had to fix dents or bend them back into shape. It would probably take me a month to finish them and find some weapons to graft onto his body. Apparently he'd had some, but I'd only found a few, and even though I didn't really use it, I <em>had<em> a gun license. (But as a chicken, I only owned one pistol and I never actually bought bullets for the thing.) I would have rather not even attached any weapons, but clearly he was intent on pushing his luck with another war.

I didn't care what he said, I wasn't putting him back together if he got himself blown to pieces again.

... Okay, no, I probably would. It's a little hard to say no when he asks in that, um... deep, powerful... slightly... err... sultry... voice of his.

Wow. Was I getting hot and bothered over a _robot?_ Never mind that he was the first male since high school I'd gotten close with...

Should I tell them about that guy? That was a pretty big thing and besides it involved-

Um, anyway, progress! Lots of progress. And actually, Skywarp did manage to give Controller a bath without my help. I was keeping an eye on them, and so was Laserbeak, so if anything _had_ happened, it would have been alright. But nothing really noteworthy happened. After the first few minutes, I heard Skywarp kind of cooing along with the sparkling and using baby talk. It was kind of cute; he'd make the perfect sitter when I wasn't here. I was hoping maybe the others had found more sparklings, I loved them and Skywarp seemed to as well.

After a while of rebuilding, and the Seekers hadn't come back, I noticed that Megatron had seemed to come back out of recharge. He wasn't really looking at anybody, mostly just glancing up at the sky, then down at the water.

... Well, I needed a break.

I put all my tools back in my box and then put my hair up in a bun, though it was a quick job so some of it came back out of the holder. Then I walked over and sat down beside Megatron; now he actually had a body, so I couldn't just be at eye level, I had to look up at him. "Penny for your thoughts, Lord Megatron?"

He made a noise that sounded like a scoff, flickered his optics to me briefly, then continued looking at the clouds. "If that's your human way of asking what I'm processing, you can just delete that notion right now. I'm not going to tell you."

"Are you sure?" I propped my leg up, draping my arm over my knee. "I mean, you should talk if something's bothering you. You talked to me about Starscream the first day we met. It's been two months - can't you trust me?"

"Two deca cyles of loyalty proves nothing, femme. I trust no human."

"Really? Because..." I pushed some hair out of my eyes. "You trusted me to put you back together right. On another note, you probably don't want to provoke the person holding the wrench. Just saying. So come on. What's the matter?"

"Why should I tell you?"

I started laughing, and after he gave me a look, I shook my head. "No, I just, it's... that's, like, one of the first things you said to me. Remember? I was asking questions, and after a while _that_ was your answer. 'Why should I talk to you?' Sorry, it just... struck me as... kind of funny. You know, that we're still at that level."

"What 'level'?"

"Oh, I dunno what it really is. It's, like... that last little step you have to climb before someone is your friend. I dunno, I guess I just thought that maybe we'd be on the friend level by now. I know you said two months isn't a long time, but..." I looked down and started drawing in the dirt. "I guess time just passes different for everybody. It felt longer to me than you might think."

"I see. To be truthful, it hasn't felt the quickest time for me either. I am anxious to have my body back, and you are working quite slowly."

"I'm sorry. I'm not exactly, you know... _used_ to the building. Normally I work online, telling people how to fix their own problems. It's not often that I'm actually doing the work myself."

"At least you're taking the pains to do a good job. You have your computer with you - are you still working?"

"When I'm not building, yeah. That's how I make money."

"Your race is primitive."

"As you've been telling me. Unfortunately, I can't change it instantly, and especially by myself." I rested my cheek in my hand. "So, tell me about you."

"Shouldn't you be building?"

"Hand's getting tired. Need a break."

"You've been awfully short with my questions lately, femme."

"Maybe it's because you never use my name and we've known each other for two months. Most people don't take kindly to just being called 'girl'."

"Perhaps I've taught you something after all. You seem to be developing that backbone you lacked before."

"Perhaps." I stretched out and laid back on the grass. "So, since I needed a break, I just wanted to talk. If that's okay with you?"

"So talk."

"No, no, that's not what I mean. I want to actually have a conversation with you. You know, where we _both_ talk to each other."

"Isn't that what we've been doing?"

"Yeah. But let me see if I can find a better topic, we don't exactly have one."

He vented, and his optics flashed, but all he said was, "Tell me about your family."

"Um, okay. Let's see... uh, I'm an only child. I don't have any brothers or sisters."

"You are lucky. What about your creators? What are they like?"

"Who, my parents?" I put my arms behind my head. "Oh... like any parents, I guess. They kinda just want me to be the best I can be."

He scoffed again. "By that, you don't mean supportive. You mean they push you to do things you don't want to do."

"Well..." I bit my lip. "Sometimes."

"And if you don't perform to their standards, they punish you."

"Not really... _punish._ They're just disappointed because they know I can do better."

He reached up and began to pick at the wound on his head, which I still had yet to properly fix. "They want you to be... _perfect._"

"At least somebody understands." I propped my legs up.

"They have unrealistic expectations. Not even on Cybertron did we expect any youngling to be perfect." I thought I saw something around the wound spark, but his faceplates didn't change. He just brought his servo down and, for a moment, it hovered over me. "We expect them to be... as they were programmed."

I closed my eyes, sighing. "Are they programmed with flaws?"

"Of course. They are given programs which create the ability to be flawed, though their specific flaws are either up to chance or up to themselves. No youngling is perfect, and by definition that also means no member of our race is perfect. Upon maturation they retain their flaws."

"Do they ever correct their flaws? Is it even possible?"

"It is difficult to overcome one's programming."

"Huh." I opened my eyes and looked up at the clouds. I smiled upon seeing one that looked like a baby. "Do you know what your flaw is?"

"Even _if_ I knew, I wouldn't tell you."

"_Really?_ Okay, let me guess and see if I can figure it out then." I tapped my heel on the grass a few times, then shifted my shoulders. "I think the only one with a bigger ego than you is TC. And I can say that because he's gone right now. He'd probably take it as a compliment though."

He snorted. "You're not thinking hard enough. Starscream's trine is overly obvious with their flaws - whoever programmed them clearly wasn't going for subtlety."

"Okay, um... alright, I'll figure it out eventually. What do you think my biggest flaw is?"

"Are you really trying to play a game with me?"

"Yeah. Come on, it's no fun if you don't guess."

"You are very slow. But I don't process that's your flaw."

"Fair enough, I _am_ pretty slow. How about... let me guess, are you a jealous person?"

"I can be. You don't speak often enough, and when you do, you're typically not loud enough to be heard."

"Greed."

"Self-deprecation."

"Unwilling to talk about personal stuff."

"Too charitable."

At that point I laughed. "I can't believe this is really happening! We're sitting here, bored out of our skulls, trying to guess what each other's worst quality is! This is insane."

"I agree. Are we done with it?"

"Sure, I guess. Did I get any right?"

"None you suggested were the worst."

"Well, you probably got 'self-deprecation' right."

"I win. Oh, I'm _so_ excited, _yes._"

I snickered. "I love how great you are at sarcasm. So anyway, what about your family? Have any sisters?"

"No."

"Brothers?"

"One."

"Oh, tell me about him."

"He's older than I am and I don't like him."

"Okay..." I started picking the grass. "What about your par - err, creators?"

"Our femme creator perished shortly after I was created. Our mech creator was offlined in a battle before I entered the youngling stage."

"Was that when you were... um... w-well, I mean..." I could have smacked myself. When Starscream had mentioned that Sentinel person way back two months ago, Megatron got _pissed._ I shouldn't have even brought it up.

"If you mean Sentinel Prime, yes, it was then that my brother and I were taken under his tutelage."

"Oh. Cool. I kind of... like knowing stuff about you." I shrugged. "I guess it makes you seem more..."

"Human?"

"I was, um, going to say 'relatable', but... you know, 'human' works too. Unless you take that as an insult."

"Say what you wish... Stacie." I could tell it was a little difficult for him to use my name after he hadn't been. "This is your planet, after all. Not mine. If it were the other way around, perhaps I would have locked you away for a deca cycle."

"That's a month, right? Starscream tried to teach me a little about Cybertronian time a while ago, but I didn't really get it. I mean, he kind of explained it, but there are a lot of ones I still don't understand."

"Do you have any questions?"

"Wha... you mean you'd actually _teach_ me?"

"It's something for me to do besides criticize you. I can't get up yet. But let me give you an order before we start: pick up my legs and _work on them_ while I'm teaching you, _femme!_"

"Eep! Okay!" I jumped up, and rushed to grab everything.

Wow. And I thought he changed a little there. My mistake, I guess.

* * *

><p>I flipped my mask up and examined the piece I'd just smoothed over. "So, let me see if I have it right. An <em>astrosecond<em> is half of a second on Earth, and a thousand astroseconds is a _breem,_ which is eight point three minutes."

"Yes. And how many breems are in a joor?"

"Ten. And when you say _solar cycle,_ that's a day. _Stellar cycle_ is a year."

"Very good." He nodded. "I don't process that Starscream is the ideal teacher, but now that you're in the right servos, you're learning quickly."

I blushed, and put my mask back down in record time to avoid him seeing. "U-Um, thanks."

"Tsk, now, you haven't been stammering your words this whole time. I'm disappointed, Stacie - what is that human term for that?"

"O-One step forward, two steps back."

"Exactly. And I hate to be the one to tell you, but something's wrong with your face."

"I-It's nothing. I'm just a little hot." Okay, now I was starting to sound like Ramjet. Why didn't I just explain it to him? He'd been trying to explain about _his_ planet to me. I should have done the same.

All of a sudden, the noise of propulsion notified us of the Seekers' return above. I took my mask off and stood up, tilting my head back so I could see if they'd found anybody. I was still hoping for more hatchlings.

But no such luck - it looked like they'd found someone alright, but three of them were carrying his body while Starscream was carrying his popped-off helm. Slipstream was behind them, yelling at everybody. "You idiot!" she shouted, clearly addressing the, um, head. "I don't believe you're still online after all the times you get blown to scrap! Maybe we should just let you _sit_ for a while _without a helm!_ You don't need it anyway, you're _stupid!_"

Megatron groaned audibly. "Of all the useless glitchheads they _could_ have found..."

They all landed; Ramjet, Sunstorm, and Thundercracker unceremoniously dropped the body onto the ground near the river.

"_OWCH!_" the head screamed. "Be careful how you handle Wazpinator body! Wazpinator hazz delicate thorax!"

"Shut up! Your voice is like a million drills boring into my audio receptors!" Slipstream grabbed the helm from Starscream and drop-kicked it. It shrieked as it bounced off a rock and rolled, landing in front of me.

I raised an eyebrow, then held up my hand. "... Hey there."

His optics offlined and onlined rapidly a few times, then looked up at me. "Wazpinator happy to see... _sexy_ girl. Will she keep Wazpinator helm away from Slipzzztream?"

"_I said SHUT UP!_"

"And Wazpinator not _lizzzen_ to Angry-Bot! Angry-Bot izzz _mean!_"

"_I DARE YOU. TO SAY THAT. __**AGAIN.**_"

"Angry-Bot mean! Angry-Bot mean!"

I looked over at the other Seekers and, before Slipstream could kick the head again, slowly raised my hand. "So, uh... what's goin' on here?"

"This is Waspinator." Starscream tapped the newbie's helm with his pede. "He, er... is rather accident-prone, as you can see. Waspinator, this is Stacie. She's our mechanic."

"Pretty Fleshy-Bot not kick Wazpinator?" His optics looked up at me hopefully.

"Do you think you can manage to reattach his helm, Anastacia?" Sunstorm grinned. "He won't be much help if we can't get his precious parts back together."

"I, um... I'll certainly give it a shot." I bent down and picked up his helm, trying to give him a smile. "Let's, uh... go... see what we can do. C'mere, buddy. Stars, I'll fix your dents as soon as I'm done with him, okay?"

"I'll keep myself busy."

I swore I heard Waspinator's helm blow a raspberry at Slipstream as I carried him over to his body.

* * *

><p>I blinked behind my welding mask, lighting up my torch. "Sorry if this hurts, Wasp, but I hope it won't be too bad. It's the only way I can get your head back on."<p>

"Izz okay. Wazpinator be _brave_ for pretty Fleshy-Bot Stacie."

"Right." I carefully took the torch to his neck, welding together the gorget armor with the rest of his body. "How did you end up like this anyway?"

"Wazpinator _alwayzz_ getting blown to scrap. Wazpinator hazz worst luck in whole univerzze and Wazpinator _hatezz_ being Wazpinator."

"Well, that sucks." I lowered the flame's intensity just a little. "Am I hurting you?"

"Izz a little hot."

I barely held back a laugh at that one. "You are the cutest thing. Well, besides Controller anyway."

"Who'zz Controller?"

"He's our sparkling. Well, he's _almost_ a sparkling, not quite yet."

"Wazpinator _looooove_ sparklingzz! Can Wazpinator hold him?"

"Uh, maybe once I've gotten your helm back on the rest of you."

"Fleshy-Bot Stacie like sparklingzz?"

"Very much. I've always wanted a baby, but..." I flicked my torch off, putting my mask up even though my job was only half-done. I wanted to tell him about that guy in high school, I really did. But he was new, and he didn't know me well. If I was going to tell _anyone,_ it would be one of the others, the ones I'd known almost since day one.

Waspinator blinked up at me. "Fleshy-Bot Stacie izz... sad."

"Yeah, a little."

"If Fleshy-Bot Stacie doezzz... not want to talk about whatever izzz making her... sad... Wazpinator not make her."

I almost felt the tears coming to my eyes, but I managed to shake them away. "Thanks. Maybe... when I know you a little better. Okay? Now, let me get your head finished..."

He offlined his optics. "Wazpinator not want to battle anymore. Wazpinator always lose and be blown apart. Sure, Triangle-Bot and Triangle-Bot trine put Wazpinator back together, but nobot ever _want_ to help Wazpinator."

"Well, I'm certainly not doing this because it's _fun._ I'm doing it because I _want_ to." I put my mask back down and lit my torch again. "If it helps, I know how you feel, Wasp. I was shanghaied into doing this or else... well, Lord Megatron probably would have bitten me in half or something. He was only a helm when I found him. And if I tried to leave now, they probably wouldn't let me."

"Wazpinator not want to be Decepticon anymore. Wazpinator only stay becauzzze of Dragon-Bot."

"You mean Lord Megatron?"

He nodded, making my job slightly more difficult. "Dragon-Bot not want Wazpinator to leave, no matter if Wazpinator izz walking scrap pile. May not zzeem like it, but Dragon-Bot needzz otherzz."

"He could have fooled me. But I guess it makes sense, I've noticed he doesn't like being alone." I shut off my torch and took off my mask. "There we go, you're all better. Go have fun. Don't jump in the river, don't bang your head against anything, and _please_ don't get into a fight with Slipstream."

"Yay! Wazpinator so happy. Wazpinator like pretty Fleshy-Bot Stacie."

"I like you too." I stood up. "I'm gonna go get back to building."

"_Wazpinator want to hold sparkling!_"

"S-Stacie!"

"It's okay," I called, sitting down by the legs-in-progress. "I said he could."

* * *

><p>Night came pretty quickly. I was almost asleep, but I felt somebot pick me up and cradle me in their servo.<p>

"Our pet doesn't bite, does she?"

"For spark's sake, Skywarp. Don't you process that she would have _done it_ by now if she wanted to?"

"I guess... so you don't mind if I hold her while we recharge?"

"No, take her. Be careful, she releases saliva when she's in recharge."

"_I do not drool!_"

"... Thought you were asleep..."

"Go into recharge, you loveable Dorito-shaped tin can."

* * *

><p><strong>Beast Wars Waspinator. THAT'S RIGHT I WENT THERE LOLOLOLOL. At least he didn't say "Wazpinator hazz a headache... in hizz whole <strong>**_body._****" That line kills me. "Dragon-Bot not command Waspinator! Dragon-Bot command YOU, Sub-Commander Kiss-Butt!"**

**... I must have him say the words "kiss butt" in reference to Sunstorm SOMETIME in this story. XD I don't know why, but something about Scott McNeil saying "kiss butt" in Waspy's voice just cracks me up. And Waspy's movements when he says it. FTW.**

**Anyway, Italian translations because Mirage's glossa won't slow down enough to speak English.**

**Vieni anche tu? = Are you coming?**

**'Ci vediamo domani'? = 'See you tomorrow'?**

**'Nove in punto'? = 'Nine o'clock sharp'?**

**Cenere = Ash (he calls her that because as a tree, an ****_aspen_**** is a kind of ash tree... I think? XD)**

**di corso = of course**

**a volte?! = sometimes?!**

**si = yes**

**certo che no = of course not**

**il lungo cammino? = the long way?**

**mia piacarebbe = I'd like to**

**Sono contento che io sono il tuo tutore = I'm glad I'm your guardian**

**Non credo che potrei sopportare chiunque altro = I don't think I could stand anyone else**

**Sono contento anche = I'm happy too**

**Vorrei guidare chiunque altro pazzo = I would drive anyone else crazy**

**Well! Is it just me, or does Megsie seem a little OOC in this chap? Oh well, a LITTLE OOC is always healthy. Now, if he was frolicking through the flowers and kissing her every five seconds, THEN I'd have a problem. Megatron in heat... PRIMUS. SOMEONE GIVE ME BRAIN BLEACH SO I CAN GET THAT IMAGE OUT OF MY MIND RIGHT NOW.**

**Well, hope you liked! I love jealous Mirage.**

**Thanks for readin'! More soon! (Probably a little TOO soon, actually...)**


	12. What Lies Beyond

**Well, it's a bit later than I've been updating, but... I've been pretty sick, so forgive me for that.**

**On the up side... I think I figured out a few chapter ideas. XD**

**I already know what's for next time, I don't know if I'll get to it right away...**

**Oh yeah, but before I forget, I need one more idea from y'all: Next chapter, what should happen besides Megs and Stacie talking? 'Cause... that's kinda all I got LOL. After all, he can't move, and he wouldn't exactly be welcome in town... heh... so. If you have an idea, I reaaaaally would like a review.**

**It's kinda long, but I hope you guys enjoy! :D**

* * *

><p>I set my alarm to wake me up at eight, because this would be my first time ever alone with Optimus. I wanted to look... well... not like a mechanic for once. I wanted to look... pretty. And I had a <em>long<em> way to go.

After a shower, I got into the drawers in my vanity. I actually had to turn on my iPod and look up online how to apply eyeshadow, since I'd never really worn any. I showed up to my senior prom in a denim jumper over a white tee and a pair of sneakers with my hair in a ponytail, people. I wasn't exactly experienced with this kind of thing, the way my mom was back then. But eventually, I got on some shimmery gold eyeshadow with black on the actual lid. I also managed to put on some eyeliner and mascara (the order I describe it, um, curiously has no relation to do with the _actual order you put it on in_) and rosy lip gloss.

I only owned one dress, and it... wasn't exactly a dress for the occasion. It was more of a formal dress, and if I wore it out today I would have a hell of a time getting into Optimus's alt mode. Besides the fact that it was _long,_ it was the kind of dress you can't wear anything but heels with. _High_ heels.

I settled for a more laid-back version of my usual look. A white tank top, some denim cut-offs, and a pair of sandals. I put my hair in two ponytails, and hoped I didn't look like a little kid.

Then I brushed my teeth and went out the back door, because I could already hear Mirage up and running, playing Freddy Krueger with my trees. "Hey! Miraaaaage!"

He paused, letting a branch fall without slicing it, and looked down at me. "_Cenere._"

"How do I look?"

He smiled. "_Bella._ Stunning, as always."

"Come on, be honest."

"I am. I would never lie to you."

"C'mere, pick me up a second."

He did, being careful of his blades, and brought me up near his faceplates. "What is it?"

I hugged his buccal region (heehee, _cheek_) as I'd done with Optimus last night. "Don't you ever think that I don't want to spend time with you, okay? Being with you is one of my favorite things. I just want Optimus to chill out for a while, and I know that unless I follow him around he won't. I'm just worried about him overworking, that's all. I promise, you and I are going to have the whole rest of the weekend for us."

He accepted the touch, and ran his thumb along my back. "_Pazza ragazza,_" he muttered, venting. "I was, ah... wrong to get so jealous. I overreact. You and I, we are together all the time. Every weekend, we get two days all to ourselves. We get so much time, and... perhaps that is the reason I get possessive. I am your guardian, and... to be with you so much... that is all any guardian wants. To be with their charge. It makes me uneasy to not be with you since we are together so much."

I smiled, rubbing his cheek. "I just want you to know, Mirage, that no matter what, you'll always be my cute little Ferrari. You're my guardian, and even though other people take different spots in my life, _nobody_ can replace you."

"_Sì,_ I know." He put me down. "Have a good time. Meet you at the plaza."

"Okay."

"Oh, and Prime is already here."

"Huh?" I followed him to the front yard, where he showed me the Peterbilt on the grass, not moving. I raised an eyebrow and looked up at Mirage. "Umm...? When did he get here?"

"Early. Five, maybe. I, ah, think he went back into recharge waiting for you."

"Ahhh, lovely. Nothing like starting off the day on the right foot! See you later, Mirage." I walked over to the truck and lightly tapped the door. "Optimus. You slept. _On my lawn._"

All at once there was a rumble, and he transformed. He looked down at me, obviously a little embarrassed. "Aspen... err... I thought Mirage was going to come get me out of recharge when you were ready."

I heard Mirage chuckle as he walked out back again. "There is little I like more than playing with people's processors."

I rolled my eyes. "Way to go, Mirage. Guess who Prowl's giving target duty next? And I won't _defend you_ this time!"

"It is worth it, _bella!_"

I turned back to Optimus, shaking my head. "You already know he's hopeless, so I won't state it again. Oh wait, _I just did!_" I called, making sure Mirage could hear. But apparently he was done talking to us because I didn't get an answer. "Uh, well then. Ready to go?"

"You look lovely," were the first words out of his mouth.

"You're making me blush." I pulled a loose thread off my tank. "And _you - _well, you always look the same. But I like the way you look anyway."

"Please."

"_Yes, _please," I giggled. "So, wanna get going?"

"What did you have planned?"

"Oh, I was figuring we'd think of it as we went along." I pushed a few stubborn strands of hair out of my face. "Maybe we could just start by driving. You know, like around the less-traveled roads... maybe into the woods. You could transform back there, whereas in town..."

"Not to contradict, but most of your world knows of our existence now. Theoretically I could transform anywhere."

I pouted. "You'd probably get stares. I just wanted to save you from being gawked at."

"Would you have a better time in the city?"

I shrugged. "I would be fine anywhere as long as we're together." I glanced over at my doorstep, and grinned when I saw the bag I'd left there last night. "Well, would you look at this!" I walked over and picked it up. "Maybe this has some stuff we can do."

I saw him smile, and it was so obvious he knew how I was. "Could be."

"Alt mode time! Let's drive out to the river, it's not too far. I have an _idea._"

I heard him laugh as he transformed. "That can't be good."

"Right you are, my hardworking friend." I opened the door of the truck and climbed inside - it was _quite_ a climb by the way. I sat down in the driver seat and put my bag on the passenger seat. "Do you mind if I drive? It's always been a, um... dream of mine to handle a big old truck like this. Just to see if I could do it."

"Not at all. I have faith that you can do it, but if you don't feel like you're doing well I will take over."

"Do I have to get out of the driver seat if that happens?"

"No, you can stay there. I would prefer it."

"Cool!"

"Please put your seatbelt on, Aspen. With your luck-"

"Yessir!"

* * *

><p>After driving out on the roads leading to the woods, I parked Optimus with his help, near the river. When I got out with my bag, he transformed. "What are you thinking?"<p>

"I'm thinking... I'm not telling you yet." I knelt down the river and giggled rather sinisterly as I pulled out a bag of balloons. I dunked a few into the water and tied them off, hiding them behind the bigger bag.

His shadow loomed over me. "What _are_ you doing, Aspen?"

"Oh, nothing."

I heard him vent heavily. "Why is it I don't, what's the word... _believe_ you?"

"ROBO WATER BALLOON FIGHT, WAHOO!" I turned around, springing to my feet, and launched a balloon. I proceeded to laugh my ass off when it hit his face and soaked him. The best part was his expression; it _didn't even change._ He just stood there, blinking, probably thinking: _Just when I thought she couldn't get any crazier..._

"... What?"

"Water balloons!" I managed to wheeze out through my laughter. "Normally you fill them with air, and they're for parties. But _these_ are meant to be filled with water. Then you throw them at people. It's super fun."

"What... is the purpose behind it?"

"Well, I guess it must've started in summer. It's a good way to cool off. Heads up!" I tossed another one, which landed on his chestplates. "Gotcha again!"

"What am I supposed to throw? Do you have any bigger ones?"

"You can probably pick up the little ones!"

"Pardon my slang, but - in what universe?"

"BAZINGA!" I threw another one, and when that one burst near his pelvic armor, I couldn't help myself. I collapsed on the ground, almost literally ROTFL-ing. I was loud and obnoxious, and for once I didn't _care._ If he liked me the way I was, why should I feel bad for being _me?_

All of a sudden, a shadow came over me. I'd barely opened my eyes to see that it was Optimus's servos... before I was almost drowned by a freaking _tidal wave._

"FUUUUUUUUCK!" I screamed, and I must have looked like an idiot floundering about on the grass like that. The force of the water had managed to _turn me over_ so that I was on my stomach now. I was moving my arms and legs, trying in a very weird, unfounded attempt to swim, and I was coughing, though it wasn't that bad. I _may_ have swallowed some of the water though. "_Cheater, cheater, __**pumpkin-eater!**_"

Optimus leaned over me, and he was trying not to laugh. "A... little too much?"

I looked up, flipping my wet hair, and gave him a glare/pout. "Game. Not funny. _Anymore._"

"Not funny because _I'm_ winning now."

"_Derrrrp._"

"... You're not getting into my alt mode like that."

"Oh yeah? _You're_ not driving me around _like THAT!_"

Because he refused to let me drive while wet (and he was pretty wet himself), we stayed out there for about an hour, lying on the grass and drying ourselves out. The sun was surprisingly warm today, and it was relaxing to just sit back and not worry about having anything to do. We weren't going to be interrupted today.

"So," I spoke up, shifting so that my arms were behind my head. "Mirage wanted to take me to a drive-in movie tonight, at eight. I told him we'd meet him there. Is that okay?"

"It sounds enjoyable. Will you be staying with him?"

"Nah. He agreed that I could stay with you as long as he could drive with me all night."

"He got a bit possessive, did he?"

"Yeah, but we worked it out. He apologized, and I told him nobody would ever take his place. I mean..." I shrugged. "He's my guardian. How could _anybody_ take _his_ place? I'd never let that happen."

"I take it he understood."

"Yeah. He'll always be there for me."

"And I take it you understand, correct? You understand that it's expected for him to be somewhat envious of your spending time with anyone besides him."

"Oh, I get it. Guardians are like that, I hear." I smiled. "Sam told me that Bee was like that sometimes."

"He was. Though as Bumblebee matured, the manifestations of it became more subtle."

I cracked an eye. "It's a guardian thing, right? Not a... _Mirage_ thing? Could you explain it to me?"

"Of course." He propped himself up a little, looking at the sky. "You see, the bond between a guardian and their charge is _very_ strong. It's almost like a sparkmates' bond, but without the romantic attraction."

"That's what Ironhide says. When he said I have a bond with him now, he said it's like a guardian's bond. Like... not quite sparkmates, but more than friends."

"Exactly. A guardian's most primitive instinct is to be with their charge, to protect them. They experience feelings of unrest when they aren't with their charge." He looked down at me. "Sometimes they get anxious, and every other thought that crosses their processor is about wondering whether their charge is alright. Sometimes it can even happen to the charge when they aren't with their guardian. If the bond is especially strong, the emotions are worse."

"Oh. I... think I get it." I put my hand on the grass behind me and sat up. "So it's like... a wicked version of worrying. Mirage just wants to know I'm okay, right? It's his way of showing he cares about me."

"Yes."

I sighed. "I have to admit, I'm a little worried about him too. Did you know this is the first time since we met where we've been separated for more than a few hours? I hope he doesn't get so bored he gets into trouble."

Optimus chuckled. "The bond's emanation off both of you is strong. You should be more worried that his own processor won't drive him into overheating."

"Oh my God - do you think that might really happen?" I reached over into the bag for my cell phone, which I'd, err, _modified_ so it could simulate a comm link with the others. "Maybe I should check on him real quick. Do... Do you think I should?"

"It may be a good idea. He could already be worrying about you. Perhaps simply the sound of your voice might keep him from growing too concerned."

I frowned as I dried off my hand on the grass and clicked my contact _Miraggio._ "I can't believe it, I miss him already. I didn't think I would."

"If you want to go back, I will take you back."

"No, I just... I need to talk to him."

::_Ciao?_:: came the voice on the other end of the link.

"Mirage!"

::_Cenere?_ Is something the matter? Do you need me to come get you?:: He sounded awfully worried, like he thought something bad had happened.

I had to admit, it was a little flattering how he was so quick at jumping to the conclusion that I needed him. "No, nothing's the matter. You don't need to come get me." I gripped the phone with both hands, sitting a little straighter and looking down at the water flowing over the rocks. I was unaware that Optimus was listening to every word. "I just... how are you doing? You still in the yard?"

::_Mi manche, è come sto facendo,_:: he mumbled, and the tone of it cracked my heart a little bit. ::I'm just, ah, driving around town. Might go to the beach. Maybe I'll, ah... go into holoform and have a swim.::

"Don't go skinny-dipping again," I giggled, and all of a sudden I felt like I was about to cry. "The, um... the last thing we need is you catching a cold."

::_Sì, tesoro,_:: he answered, and I could tell he was smiling. ::Thank you for worrying.:: There was a brief pause, then he said, ::Are you... ah... having fun?::

"Yeah, I... gotta figure what we're doing after we get dried off."

::_Asciugiati?_:: he laughed. ::What in Pit are you doing?::

"I'll tell you about it later. W-Well, I, um... I'll see you tonight."

::_Vediamo allora._ Have a good time.::

"W-Wait!" I called before he could hang up. "Mirage...?"

::_Sì?_::

"I..." I swallowed. "I miss you."

::Already? I thought you were excited to be with Prime.::

"No, no, I am, I just..." I felt my eyes tear up a little, and my voice cracked. "I-_I miss you._"

I heard him make a noise, but I couldn't tell what it was. Sounded almost like he was clearing his throat, but... not quite. ::I... I miss you too. But... we'll be together soon, _sì?_ Before you know it.::

"Yeah, I know. Bye, Mirage. I'll call you again."

::Not if I call you first. _Arrivederci._::

I hung up and put my phone back in the bag before running a hand over my eyes.

"Is he alright?" Optimus asked.

"Yeah, he's... he's fine. Just misses me."

He reached down and carefully ran a finger down my cheek. "Are _you_ alright?" he queried, softer this time.

"Oh, I'm fine... just a crybaby. I didn't realize how much I missed him till I heard him say _he_ missed _me._ I guess I didn't understand just how much I could need someone I haven't known very long."

"I'm told it often hits you very hard." He reached his finger behind me and caressed my back. "You wonder how you've survived until now without them. I hear it's a very complicated bond."

"You can say that again." I embraced his touch; if Mirage couldn't be the one to comfort me right now, I'd rather it be Optimus than anyone else. (Well, maybe I would have accepted 'Hide too... but he wasn't with me.) "Is it the same thing with a sparkmate?"

"Similar, from what I've been told."

I let the corners of my mouth creep up. "So you don't _have_ a sparkmate then?"

"I suppose... I just haven't found the right femme."

"You know, I was... kind of hoping you didn't." Wait... did I just say that out loud? The hell - did that come out of _my_ mouth?

"Were you?"

"Yeah." Well, past the point of no return now. May as well keep going. "I don't know, I guess... I haven't found the right person either. And it, like, just hit me right this second. If we haven't found our soulmate or sparkmate or what have you... maybe they're not the same as we are physically. I mean, if we've searched our worlds and haven't found them..." I looked up at him. "It's... kind of a long-shot, right?"

"It sounds logical to me." He just looked into my eyes for a minute, then offlined and onlined his optics. "Aspen... may I pick you up?"

"Sure, but... why?"

"Just to hold you. To feel you."

"Well, I think I'm mostly dry." I smiled and shot my hands out. "Lift away, mighty Prime."

He said nothing as he slid his servo beneath me, and cupped his other servo around me so I didn't fall. I opened my eyes as he brought me up near his face, and I stretched my legs out, since they'd been crossed before. "So, how... how do I feel?"

"You are soft. Your body is... nothing like the body of a femme."

I laughed, though it came out sounding a little bitter. "No, it's not. Is that a bad thing?"

"No. It is... different. Different can be good. Your skin is not the only thing different about you."

"Oh? How many things about me are different?"

"Do we have that much time?"

I snorted, and immediately covered my mouth and nose. "O-Oh God! I'm so sorry! I swear I don't do that anymore, it just slipped out! _Wow,_ and I thought I couldn't get anymore obnoxious!"

I stopped ranting when I heard him chuckling. "Aspen, you have a beautiful laugh. It is unique, like everything about you."

"Is that... good?"

"It can be. The fact that it is unique is what makes it beautiful."

I smiled, then laid down on my back. "Hey Optimus... I was just wondering... you know, since we're talking about sparkmates and all that... how do Cybertronians, um... kiss?"

He offlined and onlined his optics. "Kiss?"

"Yeah. You know." I wrapped my arms around myself and squirmed. "Mwah, mwah, ooh-la-la!"

"You give... interesting demonstrations. I believe the first time we ever saw such a thing, Ironhide... and this is funny... asked if the humans were eating each other's faces. He was quite alarmed."

"I guess that _is_ kinda what it looks like, isn't it?" I shrugged, fanning my arms out. "I don't know why we decided to use our lips. We just... do. Like, since before there was even a set date for time. I guess someone just decided it was intimate."

"You watch that series, don't you? _Star Trek?_"

"When Wheelie and I get started talking about it, he can't get me to shut up. It's before my time, but I love it. Why?"

"Do you remember how the Vulcans show their love?"

"Yeah." I held up my index and middle finger. "_Ozh'esta._ The Vulcan finger kiss. Whoaaa, did they steal that idea from you guys?"

"Not quite. It is similar, however." He tilted his helm to look down at me from a better angle. (I think...?) "Show me your hand."

I blinked, but sat up and raised my hand a little, so it was level with my face. I uncurled and separated my fingers, so that my palm was facing him. "Okay."

"Now, bring your palm down so it is resting on top of mine."

I turned around so I was sitting on my knees, and then bent down. Holding my other arm tight around my stomach and beneath my breasts, I carefully let my hand fall, till my palm was touching his. I was afraid to do it too eagerly - or I'd look desperate - so it was barely even hovering.

He chuckled. "There. We are 'kissing', as you call it."

"W-Wow..."

"Is it unpleasant?"

"No, it's just... _different._" I smiled, then took a deep breath and looked up at him. "Just because it's different... doesn't mean it's not good." I swallowed. "Am... Am I doing it right? I'm sorry, this is just like... it's new."

"You are fair." I swear he winked at me. "For a human. One observation though... are you afraid to deepen it? You seem hesitant."

I laughed, and all of a sudden became aware that I felt like I was going to cry again, but this time I wasn't really upset. It just felt like I was learning something new, something no human had the opportunity to do before. "I just... don't want to do it wrong. I'm a little nervous about being branded a bad kisser by your standards. Mirage would never let me hear the end of it."

"No, you are doing fine." He curled his fingers upward a little. "In fact, you are doing most of the action right now. I can't move very much at the moment - if I did, I might drop you. And that would, as I believe you say, ruin the moment."

"Do you want me to... deepen it?"

"I would not be averse to it, but you should do only what you are willing to do. If it's making you uncomfortable, you can stop."

"I don't..." Slowly, I pressed down, just a little. "How's that?"

"Wonderful."

I grinned, closing my eyes. "Hey, Optimus? You know what's an advantage of kissing _this_ way instead of the human way?"

"What?"

"We can actually have a conversation while we're kissing."

I _felt_ him smile. "You mean you humans can't talk around your tongues?"

"Okay, now that right there, _that_ killed the moment."

* * *

><p>"You think we should head over to meet Mirage now?"<p>

"I was about to ask you the same thing. He may already be waiting for you."

It was ten to eight, and for the last near-hour Optimus and I had just been driving around on the paths through the woods. We were both a little tired, ready to wind down. I was in the backseat of his cab now, facedown on the seat, with my legs up behind me. I think they must have been leaning against the window, because it was cooler than the rest of the interior. "Yippee, let's go."

He sped up just a little. "Are you cold?"

"No, I'm fine." I shifted so that my hands were under my head. "I hope Mirage doesn't mind me falling asleep on the way home."

"Did you find today's activities strenuous?"

"No, I just... I dunno. My brain gets angry if I don't go to sleep on time."

"The positions in which you can fall asleep amaze me to no end, Aspen."

I yawned and slid my hands out from under my head, resting my cheek on the leather. I stretched a little and then got an idea. I folded one arm beneath me, then reached over with my other hand and started gently rubbing the seat. "Hey, you can feel this, right?"

A light rumble of the engine told me he was amused. "I can."

"How does it feel? I know Mirage can feel it but he's never really gone into detail about it."

"Exactly like you would imagine. The sensation is little different than it would be if I were in bipedal mode and you were touching me."

"Oh." I switched to all my fingers, instead of just one, and let my hand brush down, almost all the way to the floor. "Should I stop?"

"No, it's... enjoyable. I can't deny that. You could be a little more definitive about it... it's slightly distracting if you're confused about whether you want to do it or not. If you're unsure, then please keep your hands to yourself. It feels like an itch, which is most irritating while I'm in alt mode."

"What, like I'm tickling you? Uhh... let me try again." I gave it more pressure, deeply caressing the seat and working my way down to the floor. "Sorry. It's kind of like the kiss... I guess I'm not forceful enough."

"It's alright. Perhaps I should not be so direct about correcting you. It's not my intention to make you feel badly."

"Guess I'm just inexperienced when it comes to this stuff," I sighed, closing my eyes.

"It isn't necessarily a bad thing," he reassured me, and slowed down. "It gives me more to teach you." After a minute of silence as I continued to rub the seat, he spoke up again. "I am vaguely concerned about you, however. It seems that you are not certain regarding more personal matters. Things that require you to interact on a deeply emotional level with another."

A short, apathetic giggle slipped past my mouth. "Well, there are a lot of things I'm not certain about."

"It seems to me you are not certain about such matters that... one should be fully certain of. You own feelings, for example. It's almost like you're not certain about them, and so you exaggerate a part of your personality to hide your uncertainty."

I pursed my lips together. He was right. I couldn't ever decide whether or not I really wanted to do something like... like kissing or... sex or... holding hands. "You have no idea..." I answered, so quiet I didn't know if he could hear me. "It's like one part of me is yelling 'go for it'... and the other part's warning me that I better not."

"Then why do you not just say that you are uncertain? No one would think less of you for your emotions. The only ones you seem to be able to confess your trouble to are Mirage or myself."

"I just... I don't want to get hurt." I feel tears coming to my eyes. "People who are really close... I've... I've seen how just one... _just one_ wrong decision... can tear them apart. You have to decide what you really want. You can't let anybody know you're struggling with a decision, because..." I take in a shaky breath. "What if the choice you _want_ to make... what if it's the wrong one?"

"I sense that your words are not coming from something you have simply seen," he replied, just as softly. "They come from deep in your heart. From something you have not only seen, but been a part of."

"I might tell you. Later. Not sure yet." I smiled bitterly as I turned over onto my back, sinking farther into his seat. "But... I'm totally sure of one thing. You want to know what that is?"

"If you wish to tell me."

I folded my arms over my stomach. "This day... it's been the most fun I've had in a really long time." I let one hand dangle down and press firmly into the floor. "And I have you to thank for it."

"I have you to thank for allowing me to... not be a leader for one day." We must have arrived at the plaza, because he parked. "You showed me a good time today, and I am grateful."

I pushed myself up on one arm, playing with my hair. "You're welcome." I sat up and gripped the door handle. "Did you find Mirage?"

"He is right next to me."

"I'll be right back; I gotta go say hi." I opened the door and jumped out, and sure enough there was Mirage, in alt mode, engine still running. No holoform inside. I almost couldn't stop myself from just _running_ over. Once I got there, I practically threw myself onto his hood, putting one leg up. "Mirage!"

I felt him laugh. "_Cenere._ I missed you so much."

"I missed you too! God, I can't believe how much I missed you." I rubbed my cheek against his windshield. "My clingy little Ferrari. What did you do all day without me?"

"I, ah... I got bored and went to the base. Greeted the new recruits."

"Oh, there's two of them? Oooh. What are they like?"

"Let's just say you'll definitely get along with them."

"Awesome." I pushed myself off. "I think the movie's starting. Be back in a little while, and then we can drive for however long you want. Just you and me."

"_Perfecta._"

"So... what's the movie anyway?"

"_Arachnophobia._"

I stiffened, then glared down at him. "When we get home, after I get some sleep, I am going to slash your tires. _With your own wrist blaaaaaaaades._"

"Would I be so attached to you if you didn't threaten me, _tesoro?_"

I "hmmph"ed and walked back over to Optimus. "I'm gonna sit up on your hood, is that okay?"

"Wherever you wish to be."

"You're the most accommodating person I've ever met." I carefully climbed up and reclined on his hood. It was a little difficult to keep my balance at first, but I finally found a position. "There we go. Are you comfortable?"

"Yes. You?"

"Yep." I closed my eyes and listened to the music they were playing before the movie started. I heard a light, telltale rhythm that I recognized as a Tori Amos song. "Ooh! I love this song."

"What is is title?"

"I think it's called 'Spark'."

For a little bit we were both silent, just listening to the lyrics and lying with each other.

_She's addicted to nicotine patches_

_She's addicted to nicotine patches_

_She's afraid of the light in the dark_

_6:58, are you sure where my spark is?_

_Here, here, here_

_She's convinced she could hold back a glacier_

_But she couldn't keep baby alive_

_Doubting if there's a woman in there somewhere_

_Here, here, here_

_You say you don't want it, again and again_

_But you don't, don't really mean it_

_You say you don't want it, this circus we're in_

_But you don't, don't really mean it_

_You don't, don't really mean it..._

We were both quiet through the whole thing, as I soaked myself in the memory of that song. I remember the whole ordeal it got me through, and if need be it could get me through another one.

It was over, and the movie reel started up on the screen.

"It is a beautiful song," I heard Optimus say softly, engine revving just a little. "I'm sure I could listen to it many times and never understand its symbolism."

I smiled. "Yeah. I'll have to show you the video for it sometime. It's a pretty sad song, when you think about it."

"I take it that it is your favorite song?"

"One of them."

"It embodies you in some way."

I closed my eyes. "You could say that."

* * *

><p>I felt arms around me, in a bridal-styled carry. At first I was scared, but then I heard a voice, and it sounded like Optimus. "Is she alright, Mirage?"<p>

I heard a deep laugh from my guardian. "Ah, how cute. She actually fell asleep during the movie."

"I thought as much, when she wasn't talking."

As they kept talking, I feigned still sleeping, but I cracked one eye open just a little. I wanted to see Optimus's holoform, since he had conveniently found somewhere to be the past five hundred times I'd asked him. Now was my chance to put a sneaky, fast-paced plan into action!

Of course he was well-muscled, I felt that just from the way he was holding me, in strong arms against his chest. It was hard for me to look up in this position, but I shifted a little and faked a snore.

Mirage laughed. "She moves a lot in her sleep, but I think that noise is new."

"She's alright, isn't she?"

"Ah, I've heard it before when she's asleep, sometimes. It usually doesn't happen if she's sleeping deeply."

"Perhaps I should transfer her to you now. If she's only sleeping lightly, I wouldn't want to wake her. She's had a long day."

"Alright then, give her to me. I'm ready to have the little _piccolo-grande fastidio_ back anyway."

As Optimus carefully placed me into Mirage's arms - and he was _very_ careful about it, too - I took the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the holoform's face. His eyes were that burning, bright electric blue they always were in bipedal mode, and his hair actually kind of matched. I guess it must have looked sort of black, like mine, in the dark, but I think it was actually a shade of blue.

Mirage hiked me up into his arms, farther up than Optimus had me, so that my head was near his shoulder. "Let's go, _tesoro._ You sleep, I'll drive, I just want to be with you right now."

"I hope I didn't disrupt your bond by taking her for a day, Mirage."

"Oh, no, nothing like that. I just get a little worried about her, because... well, you can imagine. With the way she is, I mean."

"Of course." Was it me, or was he smiling? I wasn't sure, I'd closed my eyes again. "I meant to ask you, as well... has she ever... told you anything about her past? You know, like her family or anything?"

"Oh, not much." I felt Mirage shrug, tightening his grip under my legs just a little. "She doesn't usually talk about that kind of thing. I do know she's close with her femme creator though. They talk on the phone _a lot._"

"I see..."

"Something is the matter, Prime?"

"No, no, I just..." He sighed. "I'm worried about her."

For a few seconds Mirage was silent. "Because of the way she handles things, you mean?" I felt him brush one ponytail over my shoulder and out of my face. "No, I understand. Why do you think I worry so much? She could get into a lot of trouble, deliberating on one thing so long."

"She seems very... unsure about a lot of things, but especially the things that are inside her heart. That is what concerns me."

"I know. I just... I think what she needs is someone to help her understand that split-second decisions, they are not always the wrong ones. That is why she's hesitant to make a choice."

"When we were talking earlier, that's what she said. She told me she just doesn't want to make the wrong choice, because... well... _she_ said it's because she's seen how a bad decision can hurt people, but... _I_ think it's because she's gone through the consequences of a poor choice."

"It makes sense. She's so careful with the way she chooses when she's given a choice. _La mia povera Cenere..._"

"I suppose I didn't notice it before because... when she first arrived here, she wasn't really given many choices. Either she was told what to do, or she got an idea and ran with it. I think that when she gets ideas, her mind doesn't really perceive it as a choice of whether or not to do it."

"Ah. Yes, when she gets an idea, there's no stopping her _piccolo uragano_ of furor. Well, I'm sure we can help her. But right now, I think I should get her into my alt mode so she can get some sleep. And so I can be with her."

Optimus chuckled. "Alright, alright. I get it, I infringed upon your right to spend time with your charge. Enjoy the rest of your weekend."

"_Ce vediamo il Lunedi._" I heard the door of Mirage's alt mode open, and he slid me onto the backseat. He waited until he started driving to speak. "You're not really asleep, are you, _Cenere?_"

I giggled and opened my eyes, stretching. "Aw, how'd you know, Mirage?"

"I'm your guardian, _tesoro._ I know everything."

"Grrr."

"Okay, okay - ah, while you may snore, you _never_ move in your sleep. You always manage to be completely comfortable no matter what position you're in."

"Whoops. And I thought I made that believable."

"Maybe to him, not to me. I know you too well."

"I was asleep _at first._ I just happened to wake up."

"_Lo so._" He turned off the main road and into some paths near a forest.

"Do you even know where we're going?"

"It doesn't matter, _Cenere._ We can get lost for the night, eh? And in the morning, I have the GPS."

"Right." I closed my eyes, arching my back so it would crack. "Ahhh..."

"So." His holoform's eyes briefly flickered in the rearview mirror, directed at me. "Did you and Prime have fun swapping paint?"

I smothered a laugh. "'Swapping paint'?"

"You know! Being all... _amante-y._"

"Not a real word, but okay. And... yeah... we did have fun. But if you ever say the word _amante_ again in reference to us, I will take you apart with a rusty wrench. Also, _screwdriver!_"

"You don't really scare me anymore, _tesoro._ Maybe when we first met, but I know you're not going to _ovviare alle vostre minacce._ Not unless I did something to _deserve_ the screwdriver. Like Leadfoot does. Anyway, what did you two do all day?"

I yawned, turning over onto my stomach. "Well... first we had a water balloon fight, but he won that."

"That's why you said you needed to dry off when you called me."

"Yep. After that... we had a race near the river. He won that too."

"Ha ha... did he win everything?"

"Pretty much." I blinked, then closed my eyes and took a breath. "He played music, and we danced."

"That sounds nice."

"Then we went to the aquarium and looked at the fish. We planned to stay longer, but we were kind of getting stared at so I wanted to leave, but he didn't mind. I like the puffer fish... he said his favorite were the angelfish. And I thought about going to the car wash, but I didn't think he'd appreciate getting wet twice in one day."

"Want to drive me through the wash?"

"Nah, I'll wash you like I always do, I just figured he might want to see another way of doing it."

"What did you do after that?"

"We just... drove. We didn't talk much, but he let me drive him."

"It sounds like you had a good day."

I smiled into his seat and let my arm dangle down toward the floor. "I should tell you something though, Mirage..."

"_Cosa?_"

I bit my lip lightly, because if I smiled too hard one more time, my face would freeze like that. "We kissed."

"You... wait, no, you and Prime..." He stopped, a little more roughly than normal. Oh boy, I was going to get an earful. "_Ti ha baciato?! Ho intenzione di ucciderlo! Chi si crede di essere?! E senza dirmelo prima!_"

Good thing Mirage's rants always put me right to sleep, huh?

* * *

><p><strong>Grr, more Mirage-language translations...<strong>

**bella = beautiful**

**pazza ragazza = crazy girl**

**Miraggio = Mirage**

**ciao = hello**

**Mi manche, è come sto facendo = I miss you, is how I'm doing (aww Mirage)**

**tesoro = dear/darling/treasure (which is Mirage using? You tell me!)**

**asciugiati? = dried off?**

**vediamo allora = see you then**

**arrivederci = bye/see you later**

**perfecta = perfect**

**piccolo-grande fastidio = pint-sized annoyance**

**La mia povera Cenere = My poor little Cenere (what he calls Aspen - remember? Lol!)**

**piccolo uragano = little hurricane**

**lo so = I know**

**amante-y = lover-y (see? It ISN'T a real word! lolololol)**

**ovviare alle vostre minacce = make good on your threats**

**cosa? = what?**

**Now for the translation of Mirage's rant:**

**Ti ha baciato?! Ho intenzione di ucciderlo! Chi si crede di essere?! E senza dirmelo prima! = He kissed you?! I'm going to kill him! Who does he think he is? And without telling me first!**

**Oh Mirage, you're so freaking possessive... but we love you anyway because you're a sexy little Ferrari.**

**Hope you guys liked! This didn't exactly start out as an emotional chapter, but I think it got that way toward the middle/end.**

**Thanks for reading, and reviews are lurv! ^^**


	13. Together in This New World

**MWAHAHA. Sorry I made you wait a bit... I had like, over half of this done. Then I let it go for a while... then our city had a power outage today. Well, last night. We got power back, but my grandma's house didn't. Guess where I was today? XD**

**Long story short, I couldn't charge my computer. It was somewhat charged, so every now and again I'd type. But most of the day I was writing old-school in my notebook, finishing this chapter and starting the next one. Now that I'm home and I have power and internet, I can get it up! AHAHAHAHA.**

**O-O Wow. I never thought I'd see the day when Stacie's part was over 1000 words longer than Aspen's! Then again, when I get to Aspen's past, I suppose it'll be rather wordy too. They have a few things in common with each other...**

**Oh, oh. Okay, ahem... IMPORTANT COMMERCIAL MESSAGE. PLEASE DO NOT ADJUST YOUR TELEVISION SET OR SLIPSTREAM WILL COME AFTER YOU. AND SHE'S A BITCH.**

**Now that we have the nifty image manager thing, I really want a cover for this story. Unfortunately, while I'm not too shabby at drawing humans... I, um, I can't draw Transformers. I've been doing them in their holoforms, but as this was the very first Transformers story I ever made, and I have so many lovely readers and reviewers, I think the people deserve a full-out cover.**

**So, I have a contest for you guys! If you can draw me a cover to go along with this story, I would be exceptionally grateful! The requirements and prize descriptions are below:**

**REQUIREMENTS: You must incorporate both the Autobots and Decepticons. I don't mind what other characters you include, but the cover must have Optimus, Aspen, Megatron, and Stacie. You can do them separate, like a slashed cover page, or you can do like a fight scene. Optimus and Megatron are foils, and so are Aspen and Stacie; foils going against each other are always cool. But once again, you can choose how you do it. I'd like it to be colored, please. ^-^**

**PRIZE: I'll write a oneshot for you! I'd prefer it as Transformers, but you can request a different fandom if you want. If I don't know the fandom, I'll let you know and (because I really suck at writing fics about fandoms I don't follow) you can choose something else. You can choose OCs, or a canon pairing, or just a pairing you like. Heck, it doesn't even have to be romance. I write silly stuff too! How the hell do you think I came up with Aspen? LOL But yeah, pretty much anything you want.**

**I haven't decided on a deadline yet, but I'm being vague and saying it ends before New Year's.**

**Any bets on who Aspen's new friends are going to be next chapter? (Hint: they're from TF Animated.) Or, any bets on who Stacie's guardian is going to be/who they're bringing back? (NO HINTS FOR DIS ONE!)**

**Winners for the "poll" on their new buddies after the ones I'm introducing: for Aspen, Jolt! And for Stacie, Barricade! Round of applause, everyone!**

**One last thing: Thanks goes to PrimesSPARROW for giving me the idea of having Lord Megsie talk to himself! XD It was fun.**

**OK, well. Sorry I had to get that out of my system. Enjoy the story now! (It's like 8000 words, enjoy the obnoxious-ness.)**

* * *

><p>Ever since we'd found Controller, I'd been wanting to tell Megatron about other things besides my family life. If I didn't tell someone of my new gang, I was going to go crazy. For instance, my last relationship; the one that had, like, the biggest influence in my life.<p>

Except, I didn't want anyone else hanging around while I was talking to him about it. I mean... of course I wanted all my other friends ("friends"...?) about it too. But it... it was kind of hard to even work up the courage to decide that I wanted to tell Megatron. He wasn't exactly the most understanding person in the world; he was just the one I'd known the longest. Aside from him, the only ones I trusted enough to reveal it to were Starscream and Laserbeak... _maybe_ Skywarp, though it would probably just scare him.

The day after I'd repaired Waspinator, I woke up to the _melodious_ sound of my makeshift brood arguing. I was laid near Megatron - clearly Skywarp was too busy shaking and trying to get the others to stop fighting to hold me anymore, and the lack of servo under me was probably the reason I'd woken up. Not to mention, Megatron honestly looked annoyed already. New record, not that I blamed him once I listened in.

"There are more Decepticons on this planet!" Slipstream was shouting. "And they're very close!"

"One of them has the spark signature that is indicative of a medic," Sunstorm added, clasping his digits together. "Glorious! I'll bet they're very skilled, and perhaps could lend our dear Anastacia a servo with the repairs."

"Need I remind you," Starscream growled, "that she is competent as it is, and I know what medic would be stupid enough to find his way _here._ I'd rather take my chances with Scalpel and Stacie, and _she_ doesn't know our biology. Leave that vain, microchip moron out of this."

"_We need more Decepticons if anything's ever going to get done, you idiot!_"

"Shut your audials," Starscream hissed. "You're going to wake the femme!"

Before she could even say anything in retaliation, I got up and walked over, stretching my arms behind my back. "Too late," I yawned. "Not that I mind, but why so early?"

"I'm so sorry!" Skywarp scooped me up into his servo, carefully curling his digits around me like a little cage. "W-We didn't mean to wake you! Um, um, you should go back into recharge. Yeah. You need more rest. I mean, if you haven't got your health-"

"Aww, come on, Warp! I was ready to get up, anyway." I stuck my head through his digits and blinked at the group. "I heard something about new Decepticons! Do we know who's coming?"

"No, because they're _coming on their own._" Starscream threw a pointed glare at Slipstream, who just rolled her optics. "No idea who's going to make their way through the irritating Earth terrain."

"We're going to find them, and I think one of them is that stupid fey medic," Slipstream retorted, speaking to me directly for the first time.

"You're going without _me, Slipstream!_"

"You want to bet your wings on that? You know what happened last time you didn't want to go anywhere! _You're going!_"

I motioned for Skywarp to uncurl his digits, and I stepped forward, almost venturing out to stand on one of his fingers. "Actually, Stars, I think it's a good idea."

Starscream tilted his optics down toward me, blinked, and just stared at me for a full minute before uttering a completely flat "What." It didn't even sound like a question; he said it _that_ flatly.

"Yeah." I sat down, scooching myself forward so each of my legs was on a side of Skywarp's digit. "I mean, you know, get away for a while. I know you like me, and I like you, but let's face it. You aren't too fond of humans as a whole. And I _know_ you don't like Slips..."

"_I may have spoken to you but I did not give you permission to call me that, you ugly little femme!_"

"... But I agree with her for once. Maybe it would be good for all of you to spend some time with each other." I started fixing my hair, since it was messy from sleeping. "Without me - without _any_ humans. You're here with me all the time except for when you're looking for energon, and that goes for the rest of you."

Thundercracker, Sunstorm, and Ramjet started muttering to each other, positive little comments that they'd enjoy that. Laserbeak and Waspinator nodded to each other, and Waspinator looked like a kid in a candy store. After a few seconds, everyone's optics landed on Starscream. "What doezzzz Dorito-Bot say?" Waspinator asked.

Starscream shot him a rather nasty look for the nickname (though I thought anything had to be better than _Triangle-Bot,_ even if the one that replaced it did reference a human snack food - _I_ liked his new moniker, anyway), but he looked at me. He took me from Skywarp, and I eagerly scrambled into his servo. "Do you... really think it would be a good idea, Stacie?"

"Acceptable breaks from reality are _always_ a good idea." I wrapped myself around one of his digits. "You guys need to chill out a little and get away from me for a while. I don't think I'm a bad person, but everybody needs at least one day away from... _this._" I gestured to myself, my rumpled clothes from the day before that I'd slept in. "Besides, you'll find some more 'Cons. I say that's a plus."

He vented, then set me down. "You're going to be with us for at least another month, Stacie. And you know what I just realized?"

"Just now while we were talking, you mean? No. What?"

"Maybe one of the micro-processors we'll bring back could be your guardian. You need one - you unsettle me the way you walk from place to place. It's like you're asking to be ambushed by some immoral - what do you humans call it? A... a _loser._"

I bit my lip to keep from laughing at his pronunciation of "loser", and shrugged. "Okay. Then that's your order of business: go get some 'Cons and find me an awesome guardian!"

His wings drooped a little. "But you taking care of-"

"I can feed Controller, don't worry."

"But what about Lord-"

"If I can take care of a hatchling, I can take care of _anything._" I patted his palm reassuringly and smiled. "You don't need to fuss over it, okay? I think I can hold down the fort for a little while without screwing anything up. Trust me."

He looked over at the others, then vented again. "Alright. We'll be back sometime tomorrow then, is that good?"

"Take as much time as you want." I glanced over at Megatron. "We _can_ survive without them, right?" I grinned.

"_More_ than survive. They can be a hindrance more often than one would think."

I smothered a giggle; I had a feeling he was talking about Slipstream and, maybe, Waspinator. (I liked him, but being honest, Megatron didn't think much of his abilities, though I had yet to see them.) "Right. We'll be fine, Stars."

"Well... good. Fine! Let's go then. We'll see you soon." He transformed and was ahead of the others as he flew off. I think maybe he was a little _too_ relieved to get a break from me.

"It shall be a blessing when again we can see your face!" Sunstorm called before picking up the mini doctor, transforming, and following his brother.

"Bye, Sunny! Bye, TC! Bye, Waspy! Bye, Laserbeak! Bye, Scalpel! Bye, Slips!"

"_STOP CALLING ME THAT!_"

Skywarp looked over at the direction they'd gone in, pouted a little, then picked me up. "I-I'm scared to go," he confessed, his optics meeting my eyes. "What if the 'Cons we find are mean to us? What if we bring them back and they're mean to _you?_"

"Or, they could be nice." I hugged one of his digits. "You gotta stop going to worst-case scenario, Warp. You realize that the worst thing that could possibly happen realistically is they could shoot at you? You'd come back with a few dents, and I'd fix you up good as new."

"Ohhhh..." Fluid was building up beneath his optics, and he looked like he was about to burst into tears right there.

Okay, maybe that didn't exactly help so much as make it worse. "No, no, not, I mean... Warp, it's okay. I mean, why would they shoot at you in the first place? You're their comrades."

"Slipstream and Ramjet shoot at Starscream all the time!"

"Yeah, but Slipstream and Ramjet are... _Slipstream and Ramjet._" I rubbed my neck. "I just... look, you'll be in a group. Even _if_ you get shot at, which I really don't think is going to happen, the others will protect you." I looked up and gave him a smile. "You'll be fine, trust me. And I'll see you soon, Warp."

"Okay. Bye, Stacie." He let me climb off, then transformed and followed the others.

I stared after them for a minute, then sighed and turned to face Megatron. "So... I guess I'll see if Controller's hungry before I get breakfast."

"Can you reach the energon cubes?"

"Yep." Since we had a problem with the cubes sometimes tumbling into the river and getting lost or eroded (and therefore useless), we now stored them in the framework under the bridge. Most of them were up higher, but some of them were stuck into the sides so I could feed Controller if the others were in recharge or something.

Coincidentally, we'd decided that the safest place for Controller to recharge was under the bridge, on the bank near the river. I'd tried to baby-proof it myself by setting up a shoddy playpen sort of barrier; wasn't the best thing ever, but it kept him from tumbling anywhere when he rolled around in his sleep.

So, I walked over and picked him up. He was still in recharge, but as soon as I bounced him in my arms a little, unable to hold back a smile at his sleeping face, his optics opened and stared up at me. He chirped a little and nestled himself into my chest as I walked back out from under the bridge.

"Yeah, good morning to you too!" I lifted him up as high as I could, and he laughed, before I brought him back down and nuzzled my nose against his nasal plating. "My little baby, how are you doing today? Are you happy?"

I kissed his buccal region (with an audible sound that would have easily embarrassed me ten years ago, had my own mother done it) as I shifted him into one arm and removed a smaller energon cube from a piece of framework. I sat down with him and pushed some bangs out of my face, looking down at him. He'd begun to fuss a little, and from what I knew of him it probably meant he was hungry. "Hey you. Mommy's gonna feed you, don't worry."

I had to put him on my lap while I tried to get the cube open so energon would come out. He didn't mind though, he just started flailing around and playing with the grass and flowers in his reach.

The cubes were a little tricky to open, especially for humans. Cybertronians could usually just pinch a corner of the cube, so they didn't have to go through layer after layer before getting to energon. But like all humans, my hands were way smaller than theirs. It wasn't like the energon was super deep inside; it was only a few inches from a corner, which to hatchlings was kind of like the tip of a baby bottle. Human's fingers, though, had a tendency of not being strong enough to pinch off a corner. At best, we could pinch off a little flake. At worst, we'd have to scrape with our fingernails till the energon was exposed.

I counted myself lucky that I was a mechanic in name only, and I had a variety of tools at my disposal. And most of them were sharp. Once I knocked on the cube corner a few times and stopped hearing a hollow sound, I quickly grabbed up one of my tools before I could forget the exact spot. I'd use a screwdriver to jam into the cube and wedge the corner off, or I'd use a saw to cut through it, or I'd use a pair of pliers.

Today I'd decided on the screwdriver. One I found the spot, I snatched it by the handle and thrust the blade into the cube. I pushed it and wiggled the blade around till finally, the corner chunk popped off. After a mental _"woo-hoo!"_ because every time I got better at it, I leaned it against my leg so no energon would spill out, and gathered Controller in my arms, carefully resting him in my one arm, like you would do while you were giving a bottle to a human baby (the others called it "the feeding position") and gave him the cube.

Controller was _always_ hungry in the morning, and today was no exception. Almost as soon as I held it up near his mouthparts, he latched on and started sucking. He even offlined his optics, and it felt great, like I was taking care of a human baby. My own little baby, like I'd wanted ever since I could remember.

I held him in the one arm and hummed as I fed him. With the hand of the arm I was using to hold him, I lightly rubbed his leg. He could almost hold the cube himself, but Starscream said I should probably stop babying him so much; if he could hold it himself, me feeding him could slow his development.

I felt a little guilty about that, but it was hard not to just smile while I was taking care of him; it was like I was finally good for something. A glorified babysitter, but _something._

Somewhere in the middle of my nonsensical, practically inaudible baby talk, I heard Megatron speak up. "I'm the last one to admit anything positive about humans..." He paused, and considered what he was about to say and whether he actually wanted to say it or not. "But... if watching your experiences with Controller is anything to go on... you're very good with hatchlings."

"Thanks." I briefly took the cube away, at which point Controller fussed a little; a sign that he hadn't had enough yet. So I gave it back. "I've always wanted one of my own. Well, a human baby, I mean. You probably won't appreciate the comparison, but actually hatchlings seem a lot like human babies."

"It's apparent to me that you are quite knowledgeable in the area of raising them."

I glanced down at Controller, who looked to be contentedly finishing off the energon inside the cube. "You could say that. I kinda... studied it a lot."

"I can sense your mood levels fluctuating when you say that, femme. Are you already disappointed with the others' departure?"

"No, well... they're my friends and it's kind of weird not being around them, but..." I shrugged, putting the remains of the cube (basically a husk because, unlike a baby bottle, it couldn't exactly be washed out and refilled) down and shifting Controller into my arms to rest over my shoulder. "I'm good with giving them a break. Who knows? Maybe it'll turn out to be kind of nice with just you, me, and the baby." I blinked. "Um, hatchling. Sorry, I don't know if I'll ever get used to saying the right thing..."

A moment of silence passed, with me holding the little Decepticon-in-training and patting his back. Then Megatron spoke up again. "He is growing."

"Oh, definitely. Maybe once the others get back, Scalpel can help me expand his frame."

"That would be a good idea, yes." A few more minutes passed, during which I stood up and started walking around with Controller. "Femme."

"_What's_ my name?"

I could picture the half-deadpan, half-annoyed look on his faceplates. "_Stacie,_" he hissed out. And he said it in the tone of _"There, you happy now?"_ which was kind of funny coming from him.

"Yes, sir?"

"I'm attempting to form a way of suggesting you should start working without offending you, but with your sensitive... _sensitivities..._ I find it's not possible. So put the sparkling down and start working!"

I rolled my eyes, but I was still smiling. After all, would I be so intrigued by him if he was anything but what he was? "Of course, Lord Megatron." I carefully put Controller in his playpen, in which sat the little stuffed bear I'd bought for him. "Mommy will be back in a little while, sweetie," I called, reaching down and tickling his abdominal plating.

He cooed and kicked his legs at me, grinning. He reached for me briefly, but then fell over. He started to cry, and I wanted to immediately pick him up again. It wasn't right to just let him _cry,_ after all; how do you sit there and not do anything when your baby's in distress? After a minute, though, he caught sight of his stuffed animal and crawled over to it, grabbing it and starting to play.

I did a mental _phew_ and waved at him, then went over to my current workplace. "Let's see," I muttered, pushing my bangs back. "Aw man, part of a plate fell off. Probably 'cause it was cold last night and it cracked. I'll have to solder that back on before I do anything else."

"Get to it, fe - Stacie," I heard Megatron growl out, though the fed-up tone in his voice was practically nonexistent today. "Since the others are gone, you should have minimal distractions. I expect you to get more work done, and don't think I'm not watching every move you make."

That would probably be flattering if he didn't mean it in a threatening manner. "Of course, my lord. I would think nothing less." Mentally I sighed, but the smile was still there.

He was a pain in the you-know-what, alright, but for the time being, he was _my_ pain in the you-know-what.

* * *

><p>I attempted to sleep that night; I made a valiant effort. I positioned myself right near Controller's "crib", since he'd already fallen asleep, sucking his thumb digit and clutching that teddy bear. I think I might have slept for maybe five minutes, but then I woke up. I tried putting my iPod in and listening to some music, but the second I closed my eyes, the shuffle kicked in, blaring a louder song.<p>

I sat up against the bridge for a while, eyes closed and doing my best to sleep, but I just couldn't. I hummed and picked at the grass and flowers till I heard a voice.

I was surprised to recognize that it was Megatron's. I would have thought that if I heard anybody, it would be because the others were returning. He wasn't talking to me, and his voice was quiet. If I listened closely, I could make out what he was saying.

"... And it shouldn't matter how... _kind..._ she is, should it? No. She's a human, and she's just like the rest of them. Also, she's probably just like Starscream too. She's rebuilding me, of course, but only because she's afraid of me - just waiting for the right moment to turn on me. Planning with Starscream and his idiotic trine."

I raised an eyebrow, standing up. Was he talking about _me?_ I didn't consider myself like the rest of the human race, but I guessed maybe there were some things similar between me and the rest of Earth. Physically so, definitely, and... maybe even personality-wise as well. But I was _not_ planning to stab him in the back; and if Starscream and the others had any plans for it, I wasn't in on them.

Had Starscream really done that? I really wondered, because he didn't seem like the type to be sneaky and underhanded like that. Usually he came right out and told you what he thought of your idea; whether he thought it was good and said "Thumbs up, go for it", or whether he thought it was stupid and you were a waste of sapient life.

Then again, why would Megatron be talking about it when there was _no one else around?_ If he wanted to humiliate Starscream around everyone else, he'd call him something _way_ worse than a backstabber. I knew for a fact that if he wanted to degrade Starscream, he'd say something that wasn't true around others. So, by that property... aw man, it was probably true.

"But," I heard him say, and perked up a little, "Slipstream would not work with her anyway. They're complete opposites. Slipstream is everything the Decepticons stand for, and Stacie... well... is not."

I rolled my eyes. _Yes, I know that. I know I'm a shy, spineless little human version of Skywarp and-_

"And yet I keep her around."

I blinked and closed my eyes. _... Okay, I take it back, you old soft-serve._

"I'm still not sure why I do." He vented. "They said they may find a medic... and if they find who I'm processing was sensed... they could repair me much more quickly than she could, even working with Scalpel. She serves her purpose, though it's not much. Yet... here she still is with us." Again, he cycled his vents heavily. "She does care whether we offline or not - no speculation in that respect. I have to say... certainly a pleasant deviation from those idiotic Autobots who are constantly trying to offline us all."

I decided it was time to reveal my presence. If I stayed any longer, he might be able to sense me, and the fact that I was basically eavesdropping on him probably wouldn't go over well. Besides, I thought what he'd just said was sweet; that me being with them was a change, but a nice one.

"Morning already?" I joked, walking around the bridge and faking a yawn.

It was clear I'd startled him, but he got over it fast. "F... Stacie."

I grinned at him, putting a hand on my hip. "You were talking to yourself! I can't believe it, I thought I was the only one who did that."

He looked away from me. "How much did you hear?"

I frowned slightly, and sat down nearer to him than I'd ever dared to be, almost touching him. "Oh, enough." I put my hands behind me, splaying my legs out. "And thank you. Most people think my concern is annoying. I... sometimes tend to get carried away and cry if I get too worried. Like I did the day I met Starscream."

"Your eyes leaked then? I hadn't noticed."

I giggled, nudging the bottom of his torso with my knee. "Please, you lie so hard. What, were _you_ worried when I cried?"

"I had no idea what was happening," he snapped, brushing my knee off. "If that had caused you to go offline, there went my chances of being rebuilt quickly." He gave me an irritated look. "Although I _could_ say those chances _did_ evaporate into subspace anyway, apparently."

I smiled, offering up both palms to the air. "I get it, I get it! I'm slow. But I'm doing the best I can. Like I said, I'm not used to doing the manual work. I'm used to looking at a problem, figuring out what's wrong, coming up with a solution, and then telling someone else 'this is how you fix it'. It's a little hard carrying out the solution by yourself if you aren't used to doing it already."

"Yes... I understand." He shook his head, and reached up to pick at the wound. "I berate you far too often, don't I? But it's the only way anything ever gets done."

"I know, and it's okay."

For a few minutes we sat there in silence, with him looking off into the distance and me looking up at the stars in the sky. I wondered where Cybertron had been, before it had been destroyed. Could you even see it from here? Starscream said it was very far away from Earth... then again, so were most stars. Slowly, I lifted my hand and pointed at a faint red light in the sky. "That one's Betelgeuse, I think."

Megatron glanced over at me, with his optics just as red as the light. "What's that?"

"The star there." I pointed it out for him. "I can't be sure, but I'm pretty sure Betelgeuse is a red star. I'm a mechanic, not an astronomer!" I knew the reference would be lost on him, but oh well.

He nodded, then after a moment, spoke again, though he was considerably quieter this time. "I thought you went into recharge long ago."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I tried." I brought my legs back up, hugging my knees against my chest and sighing. "It's weird. Ever since I fell asleep with Starscream that one night... I guess I can't sleep if I don't have someone holding me in their servo. Stars and Warp, usually, but I think I fell asleep in Sunny's hand once."

"I'm going to assume you're using some type of codenames for Starscream, Skywarp, and Sunstorm."

"Not _code_names. _Nick_names. Like... when someone's your friend, you make up a name for them... based on their real name, but a shorter version, or something that describes them."

"Hmmph. I'm probably going to regret asking, and I don't even _want_ one, but... if you were to fabricate one of these... _nicknames..._ for me..." He glanced over, his optics casting a red glow over my body. "What would you choose?"

I blinked, thinking for a moment. What _would_ I choose, honestly? "Well... I don't think I would give you one."

He snorted. "And why not? Do you see me as undeserving of such a thing?"

"No! No, of course not..." I fiddled with a loose thread on my jeans. "It isn't that I don't care enough to make one up for you... I, um, I actually care more than you'd probably like to hear. But _your_ name suits you so well already; I like it. I wouldn't want to mess that up. It's one of those names that doesn't _need_ a nickname because it's better on its own."

He scoffed, but I noticed just the slightest hint of a smile on his faceplates, which was a new event. "A wise answer. Though I have to say... it isn't what I expected from _you._ You call Slipstream by a name you made up even when she protests it."

"Yeah, well... I'm hoping to win her over by being cute and endearing." I rested my cheek in my hand, sighing. "I don't think it's working though."

"I would be most disappointed in you if you gave up, _Stacie,_" he muttered. "You and Starscream have that in common. Usually you both persevere. The only difference is that _you_ know when to give up, while he... keeps going. And going." He vented, shaking his helm. "But... this is not a time when you should give up. There are few femmes in our race left undamaged, and even though you are not of our species... Slipstream is verbally violent toward you especially because you identify as the same gender. It's likely she will not see another femme for a very long time, and there is something... special between femmes."

"Oh, I definitely get that." I pulled at my long sleeves, sighing and resting my chin on one knee. "It's like that here, too. Boys are boys, but your girlfriends will always be there for you." I let my eyes go half-lidded, rolling my bottom lip so that I was biting it in form only, but not digging my teeth in. "... Actually, I shouldn't say always."

"Your vocal intonation changed with that sentence." He looked over at me, and his optics swept their crimson glow over my entire body. "Is there a reason you're radiating an emanation of bitterness?"

I raised an eyebrow, though I suspected I didn't sound any less bitter when I talked. "I have no... what the muffler is an emanation?"

"It's an emotion that you project that others can sense. Usually it's limited to our race, but you... your emanations leak very easily. At any moment I often know exactly what you're feeling." He used a claw to rake lightly at the grass. "And right now, it's so strong I'd be surprised if _Starscream_ couldn't feel it wherever he is. It's been rolling off of you in waves since before you uttered that sentence."

I let out a deep breath, letting my head fall between my knees. Did I really want to relive this awful, spirit-breaking memory? "Well, actually... there's something I've been meaning to tell you all day. With everyone else gone, I mean. I need to tell _someone,_ and since you and I are alone..." I shook my head, tossing my hair as I straightened up. "Well, it's the kind of thing I don't exactly want to tell with a bunch of other people around. It's more of a one-on-one conversation."

"I see." He kind of lost inhibition, and placed his whole servo palm down on the grass and dirt. I'd probably have to clean it later, but if he listened now, I didn't mind. "You may start any time."

I took a shaky breath, and swallowed, then let out a mirthless giggle. "Well... you know... I wasn't _always_ this way. I mean, I was always shy and everything, but... in high school, I wasn't... a doormat. I didn't let people walk all over me. If I didn't want to do something, I didn't do it."

"You used to be a bit like Slipstream."

"Yeah, a little, I guess." I reached back and rubbed the back of my neck. "I didn't have a lot of friends, but the ones I had meant a lot to me. I, um..." I couldn't help a smile and blush from creeping up onto my face. "I even had a boyfriend."

"A... what?"

"A _boyfriend._ It's kind of like, you know, a sparkmate. But usually, down here on Earth, we... don't always find our sparkmate right away. We have to go through a lot of different people before we finally find the one who's right for us."

He nodded. "It often works out for us that way. I had a mate once... but she found her true sparkmate, so I had no choice but to let her go."

"Well... turns out my boyfriend wasn't my sparkmate either." I rested my cheek on my hand, blowing out a breath. At last I let my knees go, straightening my legs out onto the ground. If I kept that pose, hugging my knees together, I locked myself away; to be able to tell him everything, I _had_ to be open and vulnerable. It scared me, but that was what I had to do. "We loved each other. We thought we were _in_ love, but... we weren't. And one night, um..." I fiddled with the bare, unadorned chain around my neck. "When we thought we were in love, we... had sex."

A deafening silence surrounded us for a minute, because I wasn't ready to continue yet. While I was busy trying to get up my courage for the downhill spiral my story took from there, he spoke up. "This... _sex._ When you say that word, your hormone levels rise. Is this... similar to interfacing?"

"It's basically the human version, yeah." I closed my eyes. "I remember Starscream telling me, and you telling me too, a long time ago... that you guys are made without like... your femme creator getting pregnant."

"I... may have misled you," he admitted after a few seconds of quiet. "_Normally,_ all that's required for procreation is to combine life forces - energon from the creators. But, if the creators don't already have a protoform for the resulting hatchling, it needs to be nourished in a different way. It is formed then in a fluid-filled sac."

"Like an egg."

"Yes. Then, surgically, it can be implanted into a femme and attached to her tubes so it can share her energon. The process is called sparking, and... _Primus,_" he growled, "I hate to draw parallels between our cultures, but... it's similar to a human pregnancy."

I nodded slowly, then slipped my hands into my lap and briefly pursed my lips. "Then... I was sparked after the night my boyfriend and I had sex." I took a breath and leaned back, lying down and staring up at the sky. "You're lucky; you can interface all you want without the possibly of the girl getting pregnant. But if we don't want to get pregnant, we have to use protection so our little tiny ova don't get fertilized. Because if one gets fertilized by a guy's sperm and attaches to our uterus... boom. We're pregnant."

"Sparked." I felt the warmth of his servo near my body, but he didn't touch me. "You don't strike me as the kind to get sparked so young. You were still fulfilling your education... still a youngling."

"That's what my parents said. And... no, any other time I wouldn't have even thought about it. I was a junior in high school... I was almost finished with my third year. One more, and I'd be out of there. I was seventeen when it happened." I lifted my hands, making vague gestures. "I don't even know why I did it. But... my boyfriend... his name was Ricky, and... he was always so nice to me." I lowered my arms back down, stretching them over my head and accidentally pulling my shirt up a bit to reveal about an inch of my stomach. "That's why I'm always a little nervous around Sunstorm. He's a suck-up, and... I have a feeling that he's like Ricky. Just telling me what I want to hear."

"... You observation skills literally blow my processor," he declared sarcastically. "But in all seriousness, Stacie... you were sparked. That means you were carrying a sparkling. You said seventeen years? So I know that you are twenty-four years now. Given the way humans age... your little one should be a sparkling by now. He should also be with you."

"_She._" I closed my eyes. "I planned on keeping the baby. There's a process here on Earth... because of the fact that pregnancies can be unexpected and unwanted..."

"Unwanted. Don't joke about that."

"I'm not joking. Some people don't want a baby." I opened my eyes again, and when I looked over I noticed he was tense, rigid, unmoving. "So there's this thing called abortion... I don't know all the details, but it's a way to... get rid of the baby without carrying it and giving birth."

"You mean murdering a hatchling before it's even fully developed."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"The more I learn about your species, the more I begin to see a blatant disregard for life."

"I didn't want to do that. My parents were kind of disappointed that I didn't, but... I mean... they supported me because it was my decision." I lifted my hand and put it over my stomach. If I thought really hard, I could still feel the baby bump. "Ricky and I didn't agree."

"He didn't even want his own sparkling?"

"No. He wanted me to get an abortion, no two ways about it. I told him I didn't want to, and we... broke up. Well, more like he left me because I was pregnant."

I heard him hiss. "I find the mechs of your species to be extremely ignorant. If one of our mechs were to spark a femme, he would _not_ leave her to fend for herself. Even if she turned out not to be his sparkmate, he would stay with her until the sparkling was old enough to be on its own."

I chuckled. "Back then I would have _killed_ for someone like that. I would have been happy for _anything._" I felt tears gathering at the edges of my eyes. "That's not even the worst part. All my friends abandoned me too. They didn't want to hang around with someone who was pregnant, and... and all their parents called me a... a..." I could barely choke out the word, and I didn't realize how much I'd needed to tell this to someone. "_Whore._"

There was a slight humming as he mentally searched the internet for the definition of that term. I could only assume he found out what it was, since I hadn't heard him growl like that before... _ever._ And he growled a lot. "How _dare_ they call you something so filthy. Resisting interface is difficult for anyone - giving in to the urge is not grounds for a term so... _insulting._ Being sparked is as close as one can get to Primus... giving life to something else. Such a word is the most offensive thing I've ever heard of."

Tears were coming down my face now. "You have a lot to learn. There are worse names than that to call people."

I felt one of his claws touching me; very lightly, almost like he wanted to pull away at any second, against my leg. "Stacie... you are not a _whore._"

"I appreciate that, Lord Megatron." I reached over, looking for his servo to grasp onto. I found one of his claws and wrapped my hand loosely around it. He nearly pulled away from me, but managed to keep from doing so. "But I'm just getting to the bad part. All that stuff, that leads _up_ to the worst part. I'm trying not to get upset... if I start crying, I'll never be able to finish. And I have to finish. I have to tell someone, and you're the only one who'll really understand. The others would listen, but..."

"They're fools," he replied. "Besides, you've got to finish this slagging story. I must know who I blame for you being separated from your sparkling. I shall offline them the nanoklik I am rebuilt."

I shook my head, feeling the grass slowly weaving itself through my hair. "Well, let me see where I was... okay. I think I was almost three months into the pregnancy. I remember... I was looking forward to getting past the first trimester. I had really bad morning sickness, and my doctor said it should get better in the second trimester."

"Morning sickness? What in Primus's name is _that?_"

"You guys probably don't have it. It's kind of like purging your systems, but when you're pregnant it happens a lot. Well, usually. Some people get it bad, some don't. And don't be fooled by the name - it does _not_ just happen in the morning. I was sick from the minute I woke up till I went to sleep most days."

"I... could not imagine that. I hope you were at least permitted to stay in your berth." He lifted my hand slightly with his claw, and it almost seemed to be a sympathetic touch. Most of the time he wasn't like this; I guessed it was because he could sense my emanations and it was affecting him. I was pretty sure I was sending out a message of vulnerability and loneliness right now. "If one of our femmes who'd been sparked was that ill, the medic would put her on berthrest."

"Are you kidding? I couldn't miss school just because I was pregnant and nauseous. I had a little trick for it - when the bell rang, I'd go to the bathroom and throw up before I went to my next class."

"Your human way of reproduction is unbelievably inefficient. The creator should not have to suffer for the life of their child. How do your femmes even function in such a state?"

"Oh, we get by." I patted his claw reassuringly, and briefly looked at him before staring up at the sky.

"It's a mystery how your race hasn't died out yet, if that's the way you go about doing things."

I focused my attention on a dim, far away white star. "It had to be a weekend, 'cause I remember I was at home. I was in my room, looking at names for the baby." I smiled faintly at the memory, though what followed was probably the worst experience of my life. "I already knew it was going to be a girl, and I was trying to decide between two names - April and Bailee. I was thinking if I named her Bailee, I'd make her middle name Jolene. It'd be cute, 'cause then we could call her BJ."

"Bailee Jolene Woods. Hmmph. It's not Cybertronian, but... it's unique. It would have been fitting, I assume. Did you ever decide?"

"I didn't exactly get the chance." I slowly drew my hand away from his claw; gradually, since I hoped he wouldn't notice till my hand was already gone. "I was reading and... I heard yelling and crashing downstairs. I came out of my room to see what was going on."

"What could have possibly been-" He cut himself off when he felt me shaking. "Femme... Stacie... you are pale."

I shut my eyes against the flash of memories, but their barrage still hit me; I spoke what I saw and remembered. "Ricky came up the stairs. He was... had been drinking. He grabbed me by the hair... called me everything he could think of. 'Slut'... 'bitch'... 'stupid'. Then... I think he tossed me down the steps. I don't remember it, 'cause I blacked out... but my parents told me what happened."

There was a stunned silence, filled only with the sound of me starting to sob, before he could even form a sentence. "He... did... _what?_ But he left you. He had no right coming near you... touching you... _hurting you._ No bot does such a thing in our culture unless he wants to be a social pariah. I will hunt this coward down and tear him apart. I'll do it personally. I'll make sure he feels pain, and I..." He trailed off because my crying got louder.

"I-I remember waking up in the car." I ripped my hand away, throwing it over my eyes, my chest heaving. "My dad was driving, and I remember he was so mad he couldn't even talk. My mom was on her cell phone, talking to the police... crying and saying she didn't know where he went but that they were driving me to the hospital. I was just lying in the backseat... it was like I was underwater... my head was bleeding."

He was reluctant to touch me again, but the warmth radiating from his servo surrounded my body. A little dome around me, like he thought if he picked me up he could protect me from everything that was wrong and bad about my world. I was still a human, and he hated humans, but... I guess he felt that with all I'd done for the Decepticon cause (mainly, repairing him, doing a load of repairs on everyone else, bring Starscream back from the brink of death, and not leaving them when I had a million chances to do so), the least he could do was comfort me. "I wish I knew where that glitchhead was. I would torture him slowly... make him suffer for as long as I could before I finally slagged him. And of course I'd let you get a hit in as well."

"I-I'm not finished," I stammered, and now I was full-out crying. I turned over onto my side and curled up, tears spilling fast onto the ground. "I-I passed out again. I was out for a really long time... and I came to in a hospital bed. They'd stopped the bleeding and fixed my head..." I sucked in a deep breath, preparing myself for the next part. "B-But my obstetrician was there too. Sh-She said... they d-did an ultrasound to make sure my baby was okay." I rolled myself into a tighter ball, barely able to get in air to keep going. "But there was nothing _there,_" I managed to squeak out.

"What... do you _mean,_ 'nothing there'?" I could hear the anger and confusion rising in his voice, but I wasn't sure which was in control. "You were carrying a sparkling! There _had_ to be something there!"

"Well, there wasn't." I wrapped my arms around myself. "It's called a miscarriage. It's... It's when you lose the baby before you reach the twentieth week of pregnancy. My doctor said it probably happened because I'd rolled down the stairs and hit my stomach more than once."

As I started crying harder and coiling up more than humanly possible (well, trying my damnedest, anyway), I felt him lift me up in his servo. He slowly closed all his digits around me, as though it would help. Like he thought he could keep me safe that way.

"It was awful," I choked out. I knew that I was getting his servo wet, and if it rusted I'd be the one dealing with it... but for once, I didn't _care._ I didn't want to think about the future, about consequences; I wanted it to just be about _now._ "First I'm just... my parents pressure me my whole life. Then I make _one_ mistake and end up pregnant, losing all my friends in the process... losing my parents' respect..."

"Oh, now." He uncurled his claws, placing his other servo over me and holding me near his chestplates. It was solacing, because this was how Starscream or Skywarp would usually hold me. "It's in the past. It should not still be haunting you today. Femme... Stacie..." I heard him vent, probably frustrated that he couldn't calm me. "_I'm_ here."

His words and touch comforted me, but I was still going. "... And then I can't even keep the baby alive! I lose _my daughter_ just because my _ex-_boyfriend got drunk and _threw me down some stairs!_ I almost didn't even graduate high school, and college was even worse. I don't have a great job, I live with my parents, I'm not married, and I... I just... though my life would be different by now."

I curled myself up around one of his claws and closed my eyes. I didn't care if I was still emanating or not and I didn't care what he thought about what I was doing. Whatever. "Do you know... what it's _like..._ to have your entire life be one, big, giant, _fucking failure?_"

I listened to the sound of my boombox, which he must have turned on for me. It was one of my favorite songs, by Shania Twain, though the lyrics really had nothing to do with me.

_I'm gonna hold on_

_'Cause what I believe in is so strong_

_No matter how long_

_And no on can tell me I'm wrong_

_I ain't goin' down..._

I was almost asleep before I heard him answer me. He must have thought I wasn't awake anymore. "You think I have no idea... but I likely know the feeling better than you do."

_No one_

_Can tell me I'm wrong_

_I ain't goin' down..._

* * *

><p><strong>WOW. Look at all the words and obnoxiousness in this chapter. Seems like Megs is beginning to warm up to Stacie a little. He says two months in nothing, but seriously. I think he's a bit hesitant about comforting her, 'cause before this chapter he mostly just saw her as an amusing, sentient little pawn, but where sparklings and pregnancy are concerned... well, let's just say he doesn't fuck around with that shit.<strong>

**POOR STACIE. I had this chapter planned for so long, and I was thinking of so many different freaking ways to do it. Finally I decided it would be best that they were alone. It would be awkward if all the others were around, listening to it like it was a bedtime story. Besides, this way Megs can tell everyone else without Stacie having to go through that memory again.**

**STUPID RICKY. WHO ELSE WANTS TO HELP MEGS AND HUNT HIM DOWN WITH PITCHFORKS AND/OR TORCHES?**

**I have a feeling something will happen to him before this story's over...**

**And, since I haven't done one of these Transformers questions in a while:**

**Transformers Animated or Transformers Prime? Why? (And for TFA, don't say "Starscream's ass while heckling Megatron in that one short". For TFP, don't say "Starscream: dem heels". Both are extremely good answers... especially since they both involve Screamer's sexiness... but I want more thought-out answers! Let me pick yah brains!)**

**Thanks for reading! ^^**


	14. Somehow You're Still With Me

**UWAHH IT'S CHAPTER 14. AND GUESS WHAT YOU GUYS WILL DO TO MY MIND IF WE REACH 100 REVIEWS BEFORE CHAPTER 20.**

**That's right. My mind... WILL BE BLOWN.**

**Okay, I think I now have to figure out some theme songs for this thing... umm...**

**I think Aspen's personal theme has got to be "I'm Alive" by Becca. XD It was the ending song for season 1 of Kuroshitsuji and it REALLY describes her.**

**Optimus x Aspen: "Where is the Love" by the Black-Eyed Peas. I dunno, it kinda just fits both their views, don't you think? All the war going on, and they're just trying to find the love. They're getting there, but it... it isn't easy. MUST GO LISTEN TO IT. NAOW. :)**

**Stacie's personal theme song is probably... "Cry" by Alexx Calise? Sounds about right... before she met the 'Cons, anyway.**

**Megatron x Stacie: "Brick By Boring Brick" by Paramore. She's kinda moving along in her own world because of Ricky (the "prince" in the song), but then Megsie found her. (And if she told anyone, they'd think "[she'd] built up a world so magic, because [her] real life is tragic". lol!)**

**Anyone else have ideas for themes? I don't think mine are super great...**

**OMG I LAUGHED SO HARD WRITING THIS CHAPTER. I was listening to "Rasputin" by Boney M. almost the whole time. (That's the song me and my bf are like obsessed over. We found it on the Just Dance game, and we were both all "Whaaaa?" so now it's like our own joke song. It's... It's like our own version of Rick Rolling!)**

**I bet you didn't guess! Lol. Now that you see my picks for their new best buddies, I think your guys' will come up next chapter. (Except one for Stacie kind of showed up at the end here.)**

**IT WAS FUN TO WRITE, HOPE YOU GUYS LIKEE!**

* * *

><p>It was really disappointing that Monday had to rear its ugly head. Sunday was fun, because once I got my butt out of bed, Mirage took me to another drive-in movie. (As an apology for making me watch <em>Arachnophobia;<em> he took me to see _Ramona and Beezus,_ which I'd been wanting to see.) Then we went to lunch, though he didn't eat a lot; mostly we just talked, told jokes, laughed, acted stupid with each other.

Man, I loved having a guardian.

Secretly, I was a little anxious for Monday to roll around. I'd get to meet the new guys, plus I'd start my training with Ratchet and Jolt. And since I worked on my own terms, I'd fix Ironhide's weapons in the afternoon. If I worked at the same pace as before, working about half a day on them, I actually may be able to get them finished in a month.

Again, I couldn't _wait_ to see who these guys were that Mirage said I'd get along with. (He knew me too well for my own good, so he was probably right.)

As usual, after Mirage drove me to the base, he transformed in bipedal mode and carried me inside on his servo. "Good morning, crazy crew!" I announced as we paraded in. "How was everyone's weekend?"

"I heard yours was a real blast," Ironhide snickered. "You sure you didn't leave your jacket in Optimus's cab, Asp?"

I pouted. "Okay, somebody remind me why I'm making _weapons_ for this trigger-happy jerkface."

"Because you know if you didn't, I'd _definitely_ find some other way to reduce you to a frightened little pile of fleshling?"

"Like I said, _jerk._" Probably having had enough of me for now, my guardian gladly turned me over to my pseudo-second-guardian. I climbed into Ironhide's servo before waving Mirage off, telling him to go do what he was supposed to be doing. He rolled his optics at me, patted me on the head, and went on his way. Then I turned to weapons specialist. "So... Mirage told me there are some new guys. And he said I'd like them."

He snorted. "Well, clearly Mirage pays attention to your... _you._ They'll definitely get along with you, but... no matter what they say, don't let them suck you into any of their pranks."

I crossed my arms, pouting. "Aww, why not?"

"Because most of them involve Med Bay, and Ratchet would _kill_ you." He lifted his servo and allowed me to scramble up onto his shoulder. "Then what would we do with poor, crazy Mirage? We'd never get him to shut up if Ratchet took you offline."

"Good point. So, what are these guys' names?"

"Jetstorm and Jetfire."

"Hey, wait." I tapped the side of his helm. "Didn't Skids tell me about some old coot named Jetfire? Are we talking about the same person, or...?"

"Actually, no relation. Just the same name." He started walking, and it looked like we were going in the direction of Optimus's office. "Besides, _he's_ long gone - sacrificed his parts to help Optimus fight the war against the Fallen."

"The who?"

"You wouldn't know him. Basically he wanted to use this Sun Harvester in Egypt to get energon from your sun. Which would mean death for all you fleshies. And we couldn't exactly have that. You know Optimus wouldn't have heard of it."

"Oh." I twirled my hair. "Well, if he died in the line of duty, I think he's cool anyway. So where's the new Jetfire? And Jetstorm?" I blinked, suddenly realizing the similarity of the names. "Wait - oh... oh, hell no, you're not telling me they're-"

"_Jettwins reporting for the duty, sir!_"

I made a rather embarrassing _eep!_ noise and nearly fell off Ironhide's shoulder. I managed not to go crashing all the way down to the floor, and grabbed onto his rotator cup. Though I was pretty much dangling, kicking my legs and shrieking, which even I have to admit wasn't the best first impression ever. "'H-Hide!"

"You're fine, Asp." He held out his hand and I let go, allowing me to fall safely. Not so sure what about falling into a giant war-loving robot's hand is considered falling safely, but at least I didn't go splat. "See, no damage to your tiny little body."

"_What about my tiny little __**mind,**__ jerk!_" I jumped up and put my hands on my hips, sending a fiery glare his way. "You keep up the comments, I'll spend all of today with Ratchet and Jolt and I won't work on your stupid guns _at all!_"

"We are being sorry, ma'am!" I turned to look at the new guys, and they were... impressive, I guess. One was orange/yellow and one was blue - I could kind of guess from their names that the orange one was Jetfire and the blue one was Jetstorm. Jetfire had actual optics, but unlike the other 'Bots, they matched the rest of his color scheme and were orange; Jetstorm, on the other hand, had a blue visor, kind of like Prowl's except Jetstorm's didn't look like sunglasses. Also, they were saluting me, and grinning while doing it. "Didn't mean to be scaring you!"

My eye twitched, and I smacked a hand over my face. "God, Ironhide! Just... just _God._ The hell is with you guys, huh? You keep finding _twins!_" I removed my hand and held up one finger. "We've got Skids and Mudflap, who despite acting like obnoxious black people manage to offend _every other minority, __**including**__ white people!_" Another finger. "Then there's Sides and Sunny, who are almost as vain as Mirage and do _twice_ the street racing!" The final finger. "And now these two! I mean seriously... don't we have enough twins already?"

Ironhide scoffed. "I would say _one_ set would be enough, but apparently our base is a split-spark magnet."

I sighed. "Three sets of twins? Really?" I looked up at the ceiling. "Okay, which weirdo Cybertronian god is _fragging with me now?_" Then I looked back the new twins. "Anyway, good to meet you guys! I hope you find the place nice and all." I held up a fist. "If anybody bullies you, let me know. It'll probably be Leadfoot, and I'm just waiting for an excuse to scratch his paint."

They looked at each other, Jetfire blinking and Jetstorm just looking all around confused. Then they looked back at me and Jetfire picked me up. "Little femme is not giving us the angry eyes!" He poked me in the head. "What you think's different in her processor from other humans?"

"No ideas, but I am liking it!" Jetstorm poked me too, this time in my stomach.

"Hey!" I tumbled over backwards, kicking my legs. "I got a name, you know, and it's not 'little femme'!"

"What is it?"

"It's Aspen! Now could you stop poking me? I have soft spots and you're gonna screw me up."

Ironhide snorted. "Alright, mechs, come on. She's fragged up in the head enough as it is."

They immediately stopped and straightened up stiffly, saluting again. "Sir, yes, sir!" And thankfully, Jetfire didn't totally forget that I was in his servo (which some bots tend to do) and didn't wrap his digits around me. (Because that can hurt.)

I raised an eyebrow, looking up at my weapon-loving buddy. "Do they do anything you say, 'Hide?"

"Heh." He gestured to them with a thumb. "These _sparklings_ were rookies under my command back on Cybertron. The youngest of my unit. We got separated after the war brought us to your planet. Guess they just decided to find their way here recently."

"All due respect, sir," Jetfire smiled, "but we are _not_ sparklings anymore!"

"No... you're not, are you?" He walked behind them and put a servo on each of their shoulders, shaking his helm. "You two have actually managed to grow into fine young mechs over these stellar cycles."

The twins beamed. "Thank you, sir!"

"You're welcome." I saw his grip tighten, and the twins yelped. "Now, don't make me regret what I just said, mechlings."

"'Hide!" I laughed. "You're so mean."

"He is too," Jetfire whispered to me. "Did he ever tell you about time he made us do 100 transform-ups because we played prank on femme in our unit?"

"I still have the night-scares about it!" Jetstorm shivered.

"That wasn't because you pulled the prank," Ironhide snickered. "That was because _you got caught._"

Jetfire shrugged. "Yes, but that was first and _only_ time we were being caught."

"Sadly, I believe that's true," Ironhide added, looking down at me. "These two are the only flyers in the Autobot force."

"It was very risky experiment," Jetstorm interrupted.

"Led by a bot named Perceptor," Ironhide continued, giving the blue twin a stern look. "I wonder where he is now, come to think of it. Anyway, they're combiners too. They can put their jet forms together, _and_ combine to form Safeguard."

I shook my head, eyes wide. "And on top of _all that,_ they manage to have Russian accents! They are _scary_ good, 'Hide!"

"We choose Russian accent because we look over internet," Jetfire grinned.

"And human femmes make the googly eyes over it!" Jetstorm finished.

I reached over and high-fived him, laughing, then looked back at the new twins. "You two are insane!" I glanced back at Ironhide and grinned. "_I love it!_" I stood up, wobbling a little because Jetfire moved just then. "But seriously, I better get to Med Bay. I bet Ratchet and Jolt are already waiting for me. Ratchet gets scary when he has to wait for things. You know, like results on his patients' tests."

"We should go too," Jetstorm spoke up, nudging his brother. "We skipped out on check-up yesterday."

"You _skipped_ your _check-up?_" My eyes widened.

Jetfire gave me a nervous smile. "Uh, well, we... we were hiding. From Doc Hatchet."

"... You better hope he thinks it was a mistake. If he finds out, he's gonna be all 'Oh, so you two like being attached at the hip, do you?' Then he's gonna weld your butts together and make you walk around like that for a week. And people will call you 'Seymour Butts'. I will be one of them." I patted Jetfire's hand. "Okay... well, maybe if I promise to do all my work and not annoy him, I can convince him to take it easy on you."

Jetstorm pointed down at me. "I am liking this one, brother."

"Me too, brother!"

They looked down at me. "We are thinking..." Jetfire began.

"We will be escorting you!" they cried together, as the fiery twin lifted me up.

I rolled my eyes and sat down, raising a hand. "I'll see you later, 'Hide."

"Aspen!" Ironhide called, sounding exasperated with the twins' behavior. Actually, it sounded like he was considering taking back his earlier comment. "You going to be alright with those two numb nodes?"

"Off we are going, ma'am!" They cackled and both crowded around me, petting my head and generally fawning over me as they walked off.

"Oh, don't worry, 'Hide," I answered, giggling as Jetstorm lifted my hand up. He managed to do it both in the manner of being curious and in the manner of a guy who was about to kiss a girl's hand after a date. "I'll be just fine."

* * *

><p>I must have been sleeping for quite a while. I wasn't sure when I fell asleep, but it was probably after I finally stopped crying. I couldn't remember anything after Megatron had answered my question thinking I'd been asleep.<p>

I almost couldn't believe he hadn't put me down. He held me all night, and the worst thing was I don't even think he went into recharge. Just held me and listened to my boombox and looked at the sky. It was weird, but... I kind of wondered what he was thinking about all that time. All the time I was asleep, curled up, having just bared my soul to him.

He said what happened to me was the worst thing that he thought could ever happen, but I knew there were worse things. There were people worse off than me. It almost seemed like the whole thing had been a dream.

He probably didn't even care.

I woke up to him talking with the others. It sounded like Waspinator was who I heard first. "But Fleshy-Bot Stacie alwayzzz work. Never recharge zzzzo long."

"It is unusual for her to sleep into this time." That was Starscream, I knew his voice too well to mistake it. "It's been almost a joor since the time she usually wakes."

"D-Do you think something's... _wrong_ with her?" The overly frightened voice attached to that comment was Skywarp's. "Wh-What if she's s-sick? Sh-She could be... _o... __**offlining**_ and we wouldn't even know it!"

"Would you calm _down?_" Oh, this voice was new. It was male, and carried an astounding air of confidence and superiority. It must have been someone they'd brought back. "If she was in the process of offlining, don't you think _I_ would do something?"

"No," was Starscream's immediate answer.

"He makes a valid point, and a brilliant one as well." Pfft, Sunstorm! I had to admit, even if he made me nervous sometimes, he was actually growing on me. "As capable and well-groomed as you are, Knock Out, somehow you find the lovely, engaging humans a waste of your admittedly valuable time."

"Yes, well, if the skinjob was actually going _offline,_ I'd do what I could. She's working for us now. Might as well let her finish what she started."

"Because _you_ can't be bothered to lift a claw," Starscream snickered. "The more work she does, the less _you_ have to do."

"Shut your manifold mouths, all of you," I heard Megatron growl out. I also felt it; the vibration of his vocal processors rumbling through him and somehow reaching his servo underneath me. "You'll let her recharge as long as she pleases. Question it or wake her, I give that as a challenge. You know what happens if you defy me."

"Yes, Lord Megatron," was the collective sigh of agreement.

I moved my leg, and then reached out my hand against his servo. I pushed myself up, rubbing the back of my neck and trying to adjust my eyes to the sunlight. "Good morning, everyone," I mumbled, stretching a little. "Who did you bring back, Stars? Do I have a guardian?"

I could feel Megatron tense up under me when I sat up, but I just shot him an odd look and moved my hand slightly - though still keeping my palm down to balance myself - before turning to the others.

I saw two new mechs. One was black all over, with white accents and what looked like a police siren atop his helm. I wondered, it would be really cool if he turned into a police cruiser. Just by appearances, I speculated he wasn't the one I'd heard talking just now. The other one - that had to be the loudmouth. He was red, his finish looked very well taken care of, and I could see a bit of feminine mannerism in his behavior. For example, he had a hand on his hip. (Most human guys... don't do that.)

"Let me guess." I pointed at the red one. "You're the medic they were talking about?"

"Ah! You know of my work." He bent down and gave me a sly look, which seemed to be his default expression, before extending a claw and poking me in the side of the head. "I have to be honest, though; I'm not as good with putting things back together as I am with tearing them apart. But I do what I can. I graduated from the Academy, so I must not be _completely_ useless as a medic."

"I bet you're great." I rolled my eyes and, at last, lifted my hand to push his claw away from me. "Hey. That hurts."

"Does it? Fascinating." He continued doing it.

"Come on, seriously, knock it off." I grabbed his claw for leverage and twisted, kicking my legs. "I asked you once, next time I won't ask."

"Oh? And what'll you do next time?"

"Hmm." I eyed him, helm to pede, and then glanced down at my toolbox before looking straight in his eyes. "Are you particularly attached to your finish?"

He stared straight back at me, and got closer to my face. His nasal plating was almost pressing against my nose, and his expression was point-blank _"I want an argument. Now. You gave me a topic. Let's go."_ "You did _not_ just go there, sister."

"Oh, Doctor." I reached up, and poked him in the forehead. "I... went... _there._" The newfound smirk I was wearing probably didn't help matters.

"Drop dead."

"You first."

He snorted at me. "Why don't you put on some fragging make-up? You look _hideous._"

I crossed my arms, and then came my stinger: "You need it more than I do."

Everyone was kind of in silence by this point. Starscream's optics were wide, trying vainly to tell me not to do something stupid (which I was probably doing), and Skywarp had thrown his servos over his optics and was shaking. Thundercracker looked like he was only watching us because everything else happened to bore him at the moment, and Sunstorm's optics were flicking back and forth; I could only guess that he was wondering who to cheer for. Waspinator was hiding behind Skywarp, peeking out just a little, and Scalpel was on top of Sunstorm's helm.

Slipstream was the only one making any noise - chuckling lowly like she was prepared for this guy to _smite_ me.

After a tense moment of us staring at each other, the mech broke away and actually started _laughing._ "I take back everything I said about the skinjobs! This one actually has some bearings!" Without waiting for permission, he plucked me out of Megatron's servo and held me up by my collar. "Now," he began, still laughing, "do you have any idea who you're talking to, little skinjob?"

I blinked up at him. "No, and neither do you, giant alien robot."

"The designation's Knock Out." He put me down and posed. "Because, as you can clearly see, the title that goes in front of that name is _'Sweet Primus, what a'._"

I raised an eyebrow and grinned. "And let me guess, your last name's an exclamation point?"

"Like I said, you're one different little skinjob. What's your designation?"

I shrugged. "Well, my full name's Anastacia, and that's what Sunstorm calls me. You can call me Stacie, if you want."

"What about if I call you 'Stacis'? You know, like a pun on _stasis?_"

"Um... funny as that is, I'd prefer Stacie, if you had to call me a short version."

He glared at me, not backing down. "How does 'Knock Out's fleshy little assistant' work for you?"

I sighed. "Fine, call me... _Stacis._ You're going to do it whether I want you to or not, so why do I even bother?"

"Smart one! Where did you study?"

"Uhhh..." I scratched my head. "Tranquility High and Community College?"

"Not as prestigious as the Academy, I'm willing to bet, but... I'm adaptable. I can 'roll with the punches'. What's your official title?"

I rolled my eyes. I'd been through this interview way too many times before, but strangely never from a giant space robot. "Online automotive consultant. It's kind of like a mechanic, but most of the time I only offer advice. Usually I'm not working on the stuff, but clearly I've gotten this far with rebuilding Lord Megatron without screwing anything up. Well... anything that's readily apparent, anyway."

"You've got spunk. You'll make a good assistant."

I put my hands on my hips and turned to the others. "Please tell me Doc Knock isn't my guardian."

"By the Matrix, no," Starscream exclaimed, faking as if he were horrified by the mere suggestion. "Even we aren't that cruel." He gestured to the black bot, with the police siren on his helm. "This is Barricade, our expert in all things... _interrogation._"

"He's a torture specialist. Forces information out of people."

"Correct." This was the first time he spoke, and he stepped up toward me. "The bond became evident nearly one mile away from this location." He reached down, and held out his arm for me. I climbed up into his servo, holding on tightly. "I feel a need to warn you, Miss Woods... I am not considered the ideal guardian."

"He's probably the worst one you could get stuck with," Knock Out interrupted, shoving his way into the conversation. "Now, me, on the other hand - if I shared a guardian's bond with you, I would do things like... oh... let you ride in my sexy alt mode and give you a makeover?"

I groaned, collapsing in Barricade's servo. "No offense, but at the moment, I really want this to be a dream."

* * *

><p><strong>Lol, poor Stacie. She's all "So whichever one of you's my guardian, the universe has screwed me over either way, is what you're saying, Doc Knock?" XD<strong>

**I love the Jettwins. And Knock Out. "Sweet Primus, what a... *dramatic pause* ****_Knock Out!_****" Lol, I think I'm funny.**

**OK. Here's a headscratcher for you all: Which version of Transformers (besides the movies, obviously) do you prefer, and why?**

**I... I don't even know my own answer. It's between Animated and Prime and I... I CAN'T CHOOSE! *runs around like a headless chicken***

**Ahem, anyway... thank y'all for reading! ^^**


	15. Unraveling This Mystery

**OK OK I KNOW STORY SPAM.**

**But uh, anyway. I'm going to try and get to some action soon, and next chapter will be a bit of a timeskip, but also quite a lot of drama on both sides of the upcoming war.**

**I promise, action after next chap. But action is not all it shall be... IT SHALL ALSO BE A TWIST. OF THE PLOT VARIETY.**

**Or, um, well, how many of you would actually prefer "chocolate twist" to "plot twist"? XD *is shot for bad jokes***

**Oh, uh, by the way...**

**FTWASDFGHJKL; 100 REVIEWS. I LOVE YOU GUYS. DIDN'T I TELL YOU I'D FREAK OUT? To mark the occasion, a big thanks to those who have reviewed thus far since the very first chapter: *takes a deep breath***

**Autobotally45, Random Reader, EthanPrime21, Alexandria514, Cookie46, Pamdizzle, The Quirkyquizler femme, kaaayyyttee, Christine Jay, ZeeDraGon, SaneFangirl, StarScreacher, justiceintheworldofhp-yearight, TF angel, thedeathchandelier, Noella50881, Rockubyebaby, xXSunsparkXx, Destiny'sRevenge, sieluvstf, Metallic Butterfly, Black Rose, gai-senseiishot, FlamingBitch1408, Dreamer of the Knight, various "Guest"s, Yaoi-Beloved, PrimesSPARROW, TheUltimateSacrifice, Kbanes2, Lady Mariha, Bumblebeecamaro38, keacdragon, Kira michi, SuperheroAnimeGeek, hunter-strain13, WulfLuvr22, Naughtia, Complete-Global-Saturation, LadyMalfoySnape, Lady Syndra, CheerupSkitz, Valkyrie Ritter, kbomb234, LittleEnglishLass, XxMentallyInsaneCupcakexX, K.O's gurl, and EvieC.**

**DUDE WTF LOOK AT ALL THOSE NAMES. THERE MUST BE AT LEAST 50 DIFFERENT PEOPLE.**

**Yes, I am easily excited. XD BIG THANKS AND HUGGIES TO EVERYBODY! I consider it a real accomplishment when I've gotten to 100 reviews, and I have you all to thank for it! SO THANKS SO MUCH!**

**... So... shall we shoot for 200? Which would be a personal record for the authoress? XD *is shot again***

**Anyway... a little bit of craziness for Aspen in this chappie, and rather a lot of "oh shitcakes" for Stacie. lol. It's a bit of a filler, but I think it's funny anyway.**

**Hope you guys likee! Off to write the next chapter!**

**(Also, guess what? WE REACHED 100 pages so far! Actually I believe we're on 107...)**

* * *

><p>After we arrived at Med Bay and Jetfire put me down, they saluted me, asking if I needed further assistance. I clicked my heels and saluted back, barely able to hide a grin, before telling them, "At ease, mechs!" Then I turned around, pushed on the Med Bay doors, and said they should go find out what they were supposed to be doing before Ironhide or - worse - Prowl found them slacking off.<p>

I shook my head at their so-totally-like-me-ness, and walked into the clinic. I didn't see Ratchet anywhere, but Jolt was sitting at his desk, being all mellow as usual and casually looking over a datapad. "Morning, Jolt," I called, taking a few more steps and hiking my bag up on my shoulder. "Where's the doc?"

He looked up and gave me a smile. "Hey, Single Lady." (He calls me that because I like Beyoncé and he thought it was a funny play on my last name. Singletary, Single Lady... I, um, I don't think he realizes he's not funny.) He put down his datapad and stood up, flexing his digits. "Well, I think it goes without saying that he... wasn't exactly happy about Optimus telling him you're going to be our responsibility from now on."

I snorted, leaning against a chair. "Please. You say that like he's normally a fun guy to be around. You... You say that like _he's_ the drunk guy at the Christmas office party, the one who's dancing on the table with a lampshade over his head."

He walked closer to me, putting his servo on the desk and using it as leverage. "I know, right? He's such a killjoy. He doesn't even like _me_ getting overcharged. But anyway, I think he said something about Aspen-proofing the cabinets in the back."

I rolled my eyes. "It's so cute how he thinks there's any lock, Cybertronian or not, that can keep me out of things. So... do I get a place in here?"

"You get... drumroll please... _the student desk._" He gestured for me to come closer, and when I did, beside his desk was a little chair and desk that looked like doll furniture next to his. "It's like ours, but... you know... human-sized."

"I feel so freaking tiny," I mumbled, pouting as I flung my bag onto my new little desk.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"So, what's my first order of business?"

"Here." He opened his desk and took out a datapad that was slightly smaller than his, which was half as big as me. "Single Lady's First Datapad. I think Ratchet uploaded some papers on there for you to fill in."

"_Homework?!_" I snatched the pad and let it fall on my desk; it was way heavier than it looked. "Dude. This was supposed to be fun and... and, like, so I wouldn't have to leave. But you're telling me that instead, it'll be like... like..." I pointed to my new datapad. "_School_ on a giant iPod! Are you _serious_ with this shit?! I was supposed to be done with school three years ago!"

He chuckled, patting me on the head. "Sorry, Single Lady. You better get to work. If Ratchet finds out you've been here for five whole minutes and didn't get anything done-"

"_Did she finally show the Pit up?_" I heard Ratchet call from the obvious back room.

"Good morning, Ratchet!" I shouted back, jumping up onto my new chair. "Are you in a bad mood already?"

"_Already...?_" Jolt muttered, sitting back down and returning to his own work. "Pointless question, Single Lady."

"_Do your work!_" he yelled back, and I heard something crash. "_FRAG IT ALL, FOR SPARK'S SAKE!_"

I raised an eyebrow and glanced at Jolt. "Is, uh... is he okay in there?"

He tapped his pad. "Oh, he'll be fine. He probably just dropped something on his pede."

I sighed, climbing up onto my desk and pressing a button on my datapad like I might with my iPod. "He swears like a sailor."

"Like a what?"

I rolled my eyes. "Never mind. It just means he's got a... colorful vocabulary."

"You can say that again." He glanced over at me. "Uh, Single Lady, what are you doing?"

"Trying to get this damn thing to work!" I angrily hit the same button a few times before losing my balance and crashing to the floor. I waved my arms and kicked my foot against my desk. "_Jooooooolt!_"

"It doesn't operate on the principle of organic sensory manipulation. You, uh... you'll need a datatap." I could hear him trying to hold back the laughter he clearly wanted to let loose, and frankly I took it as him adding insult to injury here.

He reached into his drawer again before holding something long and slender above me. "It's a natural extension of our bodies, but I took the liberty of making a custom one for you to use." He twirled it around a bit in front of my face. "See? I painted it to mimic Earth's rainbow phenomenon. I made the green stripe the biggest, because you're going to be a healer from now on."

I grabbed for it, and wrapped my arms around it. It was probably about as big as the datapad was. Like, two feet long. Like a freaking yardstick. I aimed it at Jolt, but all it did was clang off the side of his helm and make him chuckle. "WHY ME?!"

"Heh..." He poked me on my cheek. "I, um, I'll try to get those rescaled to a smaller size for you. But right now, that's all I have."

I banged him in the helm again and kicked at him. "_Fuck my LIFE!_"

He picked me up and placed me back on my chair. "I think maybe you'd make a better successor to Ratchet than I would. You're a lot more like him than I am."

I pouted, trying to climb up and work my new giant datapad. "And what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Sounds like _you_ 'swear like a sailor' too."

"Jerk."

Once I got the thing on, I saw that it actually kind of was set up like an iPod. Except, the background looked more high-tech instead of abstract, and it _moved._ There were little dots and lines that formed something that looked like random tech tracks; they lit up and spun and locked together, following a vector pattern. Like some of the backgrounds you could find on Google, when you wanted to change your wallpaper because clearly "Data vs. Lore" is juvenile according to your brother. And your mom. And everyone else except your little _Star Trek_ buddy Wheelie who you've nicknamed "Meals on Wheels".

So anyway, there were a few icons on the screen. One of them looked like a collection of papers, while one looked like folders. "Uhh, Jolt? Which one am I supposed to click on?"

"The one with the folders is empty. That's for your patient files, but you don't have any yet. I think he put the papers you're supposed to do in the other one."

"If it was his intention to make things hard for me, I think I'm losing." I sighed before basically jamming my datatap onto the screen. "Dr. Ratchet, one. Aspen, zip-a-dee-doo-dah-day."

* * *

><p>Having a guardian was pretty exciting at first. Or, would have been, if Knock Out didn't butt in every five minutes to offer his services as a secondary guardian, should Barricade ever be absent or unable to perform his duties. (<em>Primus forbid,<em> he added, but clearly he was jealous.)

After about half an hour of rebuilding - during which very little got done thanks to Knock Out's distractions - I scooped up my computer, locked my toolbox, and asked Barricade to give me a ride into town. I was hungry, needed to charge my laptop, and... desperately craved a break from Knock Out. Not that I thought he wasn't a great mech or anything, but his personality clashed with mine quite a bit. I just wanted a while away from him.

Besides, have you ever tried _working_ while he's talking to you? It's impossible. He's like... the lady at every office who has to tell you about _everything._ (Mentally I decided to nickname him Gossip Girl, but I had a feeling using it to his face wouldn't end well.)

Barricade thought it was a good idea. I kid you not, no paraphrasing, this is _exactly_ what he said: "What are guardians for? One police escort, coming up." He transformed, and I was happy to find that my assumption was right. His alternate mode was a Mustang Saleen police cruiser, complete with lights and siren. Evidently he liked to play tricks on humans. The only difference was that his engraving read _"To punish and enslave"_ where it would usually say _"To protect and serve"._ Though I doubted many people did or would catch that, it was still a little unsettling to think about.

So I laid all my work aside, and climbed into his interior at his urging. (Meaning, when he popped the passenger door and joked that he was "taking you downtown".) I rolled down his window and peeked my head out. "Bye, guys," I called. "I'll be back in a few hours."

"But where are you _going?_" Knock Out whined. "You've got everything you need right here!"

I frowned. "Sorry, but I don't drink energon. I have to get some breakfast or I'm gonna pass out. Plus my computer needs charged - I gotta keep working if I want money to feed myself. I won't be gone long."

"Fine." I watched as he strolled over and began to inspect what little work I'd done on Megatron's legs. "You go, and I'll see if I can fix this... atrocity. Have fun, I'll be slaving away here."

I raised an eyebrow, then unfolded the sunglasses I'd grabbed from my bag and slid them over my eyes. "Great! Just don't get into my stuff, okay? Thanks. Remember what I said about the finish."

"Hmmph!" I could tell that he crossed his arms over his chestplates, huffing at me. _Good,_ I thought,_ I win._ "Don't be out all joors, will you? I tend to hold grudges, and if you 'ditch' me, as you skinjobs call it, I will _not_ speak to you for a deca cycle."

"Please!" I grinned, tilting my shades down a little so my eyes were visible. "Is that a threat or a promise?"

"Good one," Barricade snickered, honking his horn.

I leaned back in the seat. "Like I said, Doc Knock, we'll be back soon. After all, I know I'm far from a free woman yet. Right, Lord Megatron?" I practically shouted the last part, to make sure he could hear me.

He didn't answer, so I briefly looked out to see if he was alright. He was. Just staring off into space, ignoring me.

I sighed and held up a hand. "Well, see you guys later then."

Probably sensing my "_Let's get out of here right now_" emanation, Barricade rolled up the window and revved his engines, making for the open road.

We must have spent about two and a half hours out there. He didn't want me eating inside his alt mode, so I had to actually go inside and eat. (Which I usually did anyway, but... eating on the way to the library would have been faster.)

Then he had to endure going into the library in his holoform (which actually wasn't bad-looking; late thirties, dark hair, mustache, fairly muscular... but no, no I couldn't get hung up on that - my guardian, not my date) and sitting beside me while my computer was plugged into the wall. He complained for about ten full minutes while I was working, but I pointed him to the "law enforcement" section of the nonfiction books, suggesting that he study up if he wanted to be convincing and fool even more humans.

Two hours later, as the irony of the universe would have it, I went looking for him. He was on his tenth book (these guys read insanely fast) and when I asked him why he'd been sitting here the entire time, I got a very simple answer: he couldn't get out of the beanbag chair. It had been a bad choice for somebody who'd never been in one, so I ended up having to grab him and yank him up. I guess I pulled a little too hard, because he fell on his face.

Before leaving I got a few books and talked to Sheila; since I'd been helping the Decepticons, I didn't have a lot of spare time, so when I was at the library, most of the time I just charged my laptop and ran. They were a grumpy bunch whenever I was late, so I usually didn't get to talk to her. We laughed and joked as I checked out my books, and I remembered what I was missing. She was one of my only friends, because I'd met her after high school, and I'd forgotten to tell her about the "road trip" with my "other friends".

So I popped out another lie about taking some special, super involved class at community college when she asked me where I'd been. Then, as she scanned my library card, she asked who my friend was and why he was trying to crush his hand in the _Return_ slot. I had to lie again, saying he was my uncle and he'd come back to America after spending a few years in Africa... where apparently he hadn't had time for libraries, what with all the good deeds he was doing as a part of the "Policeman Exchange Program", or PEP.

... I'm a terrible liar, but what's even worse is that Sheila's gullible. I love her, but she's gullible.

It was a short ride back to our "base" (for lack of a better word), but he was talking almost nonstop the whole way. Babbling about the things he'd read; so I probably should have been a bit concerned when he _stopped_ talking. But almost immediately, he spoke again, his voice coming through the radio. "I can tell through the bond whether you're in recharge or not, so you won't fool me. Something going on?"

I shook my head, sighing. "No, it's just..." I fiddled with my sunglasses, which I'd first slid up into my hair earlier, then taken off. "Lord Megatron... didn't talk to me."

I heard him snort. "Well, for one thing, he's not exactly the most conversational mech around. I would have processed that you'd have _that_ figured out by now." He sped up a little, and the seat vibrated under me. "Besides, what did you expect? I mean, that was a pretty forward thing you did earlier - to anybot, let alone _him._"

I raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms. "What are you talking about? I didn't do anything."

"Is your little squishy brain malfunctioning? You were all over him when you came out of recharge. Like... like he was your mate or something."

I felt the heat rise in my cheeks again, though I couldn't remember doing _anything_ that could be considered coming on to someone. "What do you mean?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you?" When all he got for an answer was my wide-eyed blinking, he vented. "For you squishies, the thing you call a _kiss_ comes down to you and your mate locked in some kind of... mouthplate battle. Which to be honest is kind of off-putting. But for us, we use our servos for the same thing you use your mouths for. You know, palm-to-palm."

Once my mind digested that chunk of info, along with the fact that when I'd woken up, I'd used my hand against his to push myself up, I quickly threw my hands over my face, slumping down in the seat. Oh God, what must he have _thought?_ Especially with what I'd told him last night! "O-Oh my God!" I was pretty sure my face was completely red by now. "I-I can't believe I _did_ that! I didn't have any idea-!"

Clearly Barricade found my shame amusing, because I could hear him chuckling through the radio. "Calm down, Stacie... don't you humans say 'it could always be worse'?"

"That's not what you say to the people _in the worst situation imaginable!_" I thought maybe I'd get lucky and the sheer heat from embarrassment would just like... burn my face off already or something.

Well, there went the chances of this next month being... not awkward.

* * *

><p><strong>Once more, Stacie's part is longer than Aspen's. Lol, why do I keep doing that? Seems I'm getting better and better at it! Maybe a little too good...<strong>

**The next chap might just be Aspen, depending on how long I decide to stretch it out. |D**

**But you know a few chapters back, when I complained about having been very sick and that I had some inspiration because of it?**

**BE PREPARED MY UNDERLINGS. BE VEEEEEERY PREPARED.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing and I LURV YOU GUYS! ^^**


	16. What Lies Beyond (Part 2)

**MORE STORY SPAM. LA LA LA LA LA~**

**Time skip again, and it's all Aspen this chap. I gave you a cliffhanger, and you'll have to wait even LONGER because next one is Stacie's time skip. And I'll give you a cliffie on THAT one too! I'm awful. XD**

**Once again, thanks to everyone who's reviewed this far, and... FTW OMG unnatural but awesome amount of reviews last chapter. 114 is a personal record for any of my stories! Thanks y'all!**

**This get a bit serious in this chapter, after explaining the stuff in the time skip. But... I love Aspen's rants. Go, go, LOOK AT THEM. ASDFGHJKL; she's insane.**

**And LOL, she and Prowl have the weirdest freaking relationship EVER! I love it.**

**Hope you guys likee!**

* * *

><p>The next month seemed to fly by, what with everything I had to do. My schedule was full on the weekdays; first I did my training with Ratchet and Jolt in the morning, then had lunch, then worked till five on Ironhide's weapons. But, thanks to Bumblebee and - wouldn't you know it - <em>all three sets<em> of the twins, I was distracted (they called it "allowing me to practice") about as much time as I was working. They thought they were helping me get my "medic's license" by letting me buff out some dent caused by their provocation of Ratchet - and, subsequently, his knee-jerk response of wrench-throwing.

Long story short, Ironhide's guns _still_ were a ways from being done. His cannons were well and good for the most part, but his other weapons systems had been sabotaged by Bee and Twins to the Third Power. (I know, I know, the math doesn't work out, but it's easier and, most importantly, wittier than saying all their names.) He didn't really mind though, since... one, he had his cannons, which apparently were his precious babies and his biggest concern... and two, it gave him a chance for some time off. Well, he never really said it, but I could tell the guy didn't get enough vacation days, so I decided to suck up to Prowl and use the words "medical excuse" in reference to our weapons specialist.

Like I've said multiple times, Prowl does _not_ like me (probably thanks to the fact that I frequently push the rules, if not all out break them), but he has a certain degree of respect for me now that I've become an apprentice medic. Having been a mechanic, I was a medic for them _technically,_ but that didn't help my case since I needed a deeper understanding of how their bodily systems worked. Now that I was getting that, Prowl looked at me a little differently and decided to give me some leeway on this - probably because he knew that Ironhide had basically sacrificed himself once already.

Life was sweet indeed. I was at the bottom of the food chain, being the newbie on the medical team, but that didn't change how Ratchet and Jolt - and everyone else - treated me. I was the one who'd done the first repairs on them in the aftermath of a battle that nearly destroyed Earth, so I got a lot of credit. Any guesses as to who fucked with me now? Not many people, let me tell you, though Leadfoot still got a kick out of it.

It was actually the other _humans_ who were worst about screwing me over. First came Galloway, who I _really_ wanted to take a swing at after meeting. His dickishness knows no bounds, and it's of a level that I've never seen before. Not even in my past, and I've had to deal with some pretty dickish people in my past. But this guy's dickdom put everyone else to shame. I'd call him a douchebag, but that'd be an insult to all those fine douchebags out there.

For one thing, he treats the Autobots like shit. Every time he has to be forced to talk to them, he's rude; if it isn't an outright offensive comment, it's a thinly veiled one. He'd rather they not be here at all, which is clearly a testament to how porked we'd be if he ever became President. Which is never going to happen, by the way, because I'm pretty sure anyone who'd vote for him is at the bottom of Camp Crystal Lake.

At first I just thought our personalities were too different - I'm a free spirit, he's a suit. I mean, even _Mirage_ and I get under each other's skin sometimes, and _he's_ my guardian. But no, no, even my soldier buddies - Will and Rob - hated Galloway. We all hated him so much that if there was nothing better to do, we played blackjack to decide in what order we'd get to dance on his grave when he finally croaked.

Can you believe the guy called _me_ disrespectful? Well... okay, in his defense, I was overheard saying something along the lines of he should go to a proctologist and get that stick removed from his ass, which probably isn't the most respectful thing ever. But I only give respect to those who deserve it; you know, like the Autobots, Will, and Rob.

I've tried several times, by requesting audience with General Morshower, to get the guy promoted to some job where he'll have to move like a million miles away, but so far it hasn't worked. (News flash: he doesn't exactly care for the guy either though.)

And to show that he's not the only person I'll be raging about, there's also this one other government official who grinds my symbolic gears. Mearing. Again, I thought it was just the fact that practically nobody gets along with _me,_ but it turned out to be her too. I swear to GOD she's a female Galloway. Sam told me that before this last battle happened, she tried to stop him from talking to the Autobots because he wasn't an official. I think the same thing probably would have happened to me if I hadn't been screened before my first meeting with them.

Just like Galloway, she hates it when I do anything that could even be loosely construed as breaking rules. She doesn't like the fact that Mirage drives me to and from base, or that he stays with me on the weekends. She was point-blank furious when she found out Optimus skipped out on meeting Jetfire and Jetstorm to have a day off with me, because so obviously it was only humans who should get time off.

(Don't worry. Optimus defended me and told her the fuck _off._ Though he did it like a gentleman... gentlemech? Whatever, he _did._ She doesn't own them! They can leave any time they want...)

She also didn't treat the Autobots like they should be treated. She was sarcastic to them, and not like "me" sarcastic, like, joking-around-having-a-good-time-friendly sarcastic. She was nasty sarcastic, like "I-shouldn't-even-be-talking-to-you-because-I-have-more-important-things-to-deal-with" sarcastic. She'd probably be perfectly happy if they left the planet too, and in fact they'd almost done that. Even Prowl couldn't stand her - she irritated him if he had to listen to her talk for more than five minutes.

Besides all that, she once tried to get Morshower to fire me. I'd been up on a ladder, just doing my job as trainee medic, and she was skulking around, looking for anything that was being done wrong so she could slap a violation on it. My first thought was didn't she have anything better to do than harass us, but I kept my mouth shut and turned back to the plate I was fixing on Sideswipe. (He rolled his optics when she came in, by the way. Yeah, Mr. _Cool-and-Collected-"Damn-I'm-Good"_ Sideswipe rolled his freaking optics at her.)

I don't know what went wrong, but something sparked and there was a mini explosion which knocked me off my ladder. Thankfully Sunstreaker was concerned enough to be watching right underneath and caught me, and nothing was seriously wrong with Sideswipe, but Mearing had a field day with that. She called me unsafe, irresponsible, and also pointed out that I didn't follow dress code.

I was too dazed from the fall to shoot anything back, but Ratchet surprised me and came to my rescue. He retorted that I wasn't an experienced medic yet, and didn't even human doctors make mistakes?

In fact, I think he surprised everybody; it takes a lot for him to talk to someone the way he talked to her. Because he didn't even shout. Usually he just yelled a bit, threw a wrench, and was done with it. But try to undermine his student? Oh_ hell_ no, bitch. To be honest, if he's not yelling, you should be _running_ because he's monumentally pissed off.

Morshower wouldn't fire me anyway. He _liked_ me. I put some _variety_ into N.E.S.T. I was a total _rockstar_ to him. Well, okay, maybe not _rockstar,_ but... he wouldn't have fired me no matter what Mearing said.

(However, from what the others told me, she used to be worse - like, _Galloway_ worse - so I was usually on my toes around her.)

It was all okay between me and the authority though, because you know why? One night, I went out with Will and Rob after work. We all got kind of hammered, and during this smashed-up-ness, we agreed that Galloway and Mearing were _totally, completely made for each other._ We took turns wearing my welding goggles, pretending we were either Galloway or Mearing and "confessing undying love" while our friends howled with laughter on account of we all did some damn good impersonations.

So it was all okay, because now none of us could look at either of them without busting up.

Now, since the first like... page and a half of this was just... me ranting about stupid people... because I do that... I guess I should tell you about all the great stuff that happened that month.

I spent another Saturday with Optimus. In some ways it wasn't really as serious as it had been the first time, mainly because we'd gone to the beach. (I later found out that for the first half of the day Mirage had stalked us like _Christine,_ but I forgave him because he was just looking out for me.) At first he'd stayed in bipedal mode, despite the looks he got, which I didn't mind.

It was actually kind of hilarious, because I went to the tent and changed, and when I came back he was... kind of shocked. He asked what I was wearing, so I answered, "A bikini." He gave me a weird look and then, honest-to-God, asked, "Where is the rest of it?" I had a mini rolling-on-the-sand laughing fit right there.

After a little while, he decided it would probably be best if he changed to his holoform - thanks to me pointing out that in robot form he'd more sink than swim. I loved Ratchet for allowing customization on the holoforms, because originally Optimus been wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and a jacket. A quick trip to the tent (I immediately corrected the misconception that he could just phase in and out of clothes in public) and yay, swimming trunks.

... Yay indeed, in all his shirtless glory. I guess the holoforms directly correlated to the "age" of their owner, and his looked maybe about five or six years older than me... late twenties, early thirties, I never really got the details. I was too busy drooling over his chest. Because it was lovely and it compelled my eyes to _stare._ I would actually use the word "ogle", but I feel like that would be too embarrassing.

We had a lot of fun that day, and it wasn't really because both of us were half-naked. I got to teach him how to swim... and nearly had to give him mouth-to-mouth. I was scared about it at the time, but looking back it seems kind of funny. He even laughed at himself after he coughed out all the water. (But he never wants to go swimming again. I think I accidentally traumatized him and gave him hydrophobia.)

We were close. I don't know how it happened, but somehow I'd gotten just as close to him as I was to Mirage or Ironhide. The day at the beach ended with us lying on the sand beside each other, watching the sunset and holding hands. I thought it would be weird, since they used hands for kissing, but it wasn't. He explained to me that palms together was a real kiss; holding hands was kind of like a kiss on the cheek, basically the same level of affection as hand-holding was for me.

That sunset was probably the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life at that point. Not that I watched the whole thing... he was looking at it almost the entire time, but I kept stealing glances at him. I'd been a little hesitant about doing something like that, being so close in every sense to him. But he made it so easy, like I didn't have anything to worry about when I was with him. And other than my bond with Mirage, there was nothing that intruded on our time. It was... well, at the risk of sounding like some sappy love song, it was magical.

It must sound so stupid, but... it's true. He made me feel safe enough to try anything I wanted, which was... different. Different and nice.

After I changed back into my hoodie and jeans, he drove me home. Where Mirage proceeded to interrogate him like an overprotective dad. I, uh, suppose I wasn't really missing a father figure in my life, because Mirage kind of took over. He could be annoying at times, but at least he didn't actively try to get Optimus to leave me alone.

We got another new arrival, and _God,_ was this guy high-maintenance. His name was Red Alert, and as happy as I was to have somebody else on the medical team... I, um, I really shouldn't have gotten all that excited prematurely. He was a nice guy and all, but he wasn't anything like me or Jolt... or Ratchet.

He was a perfectly fine mech; talented and with the kind of bedside manner that was almost a compliment of how badly he was worried about you. (I'd been told he basically beat himself up if there was nothing he could do to help his patient.)

He was just... paranoid as hell. He had to keep his little corner of Med Bay _spotless,_ and none of us were allowed over there unless it was an emergency. For the first entire week, he wore servo protectors and kept his face shield up around me. Even after Ratchet told him organics weren't dangerous to them. As much fun as it would have been to mess with him, I really wanted him to like me. We were all working together, and he didn't know me, and I didn't want things to be awkward between us.

We eventually got it all worked out though. It was kind of funny how I got him to trust me. One morning he was late, and when he finally got to Med Bay he was stumbling in, shrieking something about how he was gushing energon and he was going to go offline and would we remember him fondly? Jolt vented and Ratchet just rolled his eyes, but I sprang into action _like a puma._ I briefly adopted his personality, telling him that it was serious and to just let me handle it.

In reality it was only a little leak, probably because he'd bumped against something, but he loved to overreact. It was kind of cute, because for a while after that, he was fully convinced that I'd saved his life and that Ratchet should give me some kind of freaking medal. But after about a week of him following me around so he could be sure nothing would happen to me, I broke down and told him it really hadn't been all that serious. Which he probably should have known, but I wanted to show him how well I could adapt.

He never really doubted my medical skills after that incident.

Well, that might be all the big stuff that happened in that month. Oh, except for one more crazy thing...

* * *

><p>As anybody I know can attest to, I hate Mondays. And mornings. I even have a shirt that says "I hate Monday mornings" with a picture of a dead smiley face. So I usually tried to weasel my way out of them, either by having Mirage drive me the long way to base or getting someone to put me on Med Bay duty for the entire day. (Which was usually a no, because Ironhide wanted his all freaking guns back.)<p>

But there are just some Monday mornings when I'm not up to/faking anything. I can't remember which Monday morning it was, but it was one of them. I'd driven around with Mirage the night before, but we didn't stay out super late because we knew we had work tomorrow. So it was weird that I felt like I could barely move.

When I woke up, I felt horrible. I could hardly breathe, and my eyes just kept wanting to close again. I had a headache, which made me dizzy even though I was still lying down. Everything in my room was little more than a blur of color, and I had the sneaking suspicion that if I tried to get up, it would be approximately two seconds before I did a faceplant in the carpet. I thought all this was retribution for the fact that I didn't get a flu shot, but if that was it, I was curious as to why I wasn't throwing up too.

I couldn't be sure how long it was before Mirage came in, because I was busy trying to get air into my lungs. For some reason it was harder than it had ever been, so I wondered why it felt like there was a vise around my chest. But like the loyal guardian he is, Mirage assumed his holoform and came into my room. Just being able to feel him was a comfort; having him right beside me was even better.

"_Cenere?!_" I could tell he was surprised when he walked in. Probably not as surprised as he could have been, since he might have been able to sense that I was sick through our bond. All I know is that he was sitting down on my bed almost immediately, throwing a hand over my forehead.

"M-Mirage...?" I reached blindly for him, I could barely tell where he was. I must have been close - or maybe he was accommodating me - because I grabbed his hand. "Can you..." I coughed, and barely even took notice of the fact that it almost rocked the whole bed. "Call Optimus and tell him I won't be there today? Tell him... I'm sorry, but I gotta call in sick."

I could feel his eyes on me, looking over every inch of me, and his hand was like ice against my skin. "No... no, you're not well."

I closed my eyes, tightening my grip on his hand. "Mirage, it's... it's just a cold or the flu or something." I clawed up his arm, looking for his shoulder or face or something; honestly, I wasn't sure what I was looking for. "Mirage...? I-I'm freezing..."

"No, _Cenere..._ no, I have seen you with a cold. This... is serious. _Questo... Questo non è solo un raffreddore._" I guess he must have known better than I did, because I was too tired to even attempt blocking off the bond. (Which I had a hard time doing even normally.) He sent me a pulsing emanation of insanely strong worry over our bond - I still maintain that he was testing me, because clearly it was more than I could handle at that moment.

The wave of his pulse came crashing down on me like a tsunami - like the one time Optimus tried to drown me. But this time, it wasn't like I could just spit out the water and start laughing. I couldn't catch my breath, and every cough that came out shook my body, sounding shallow and harsh. I couldn't even talk; all I could do was grasp his hand and try to pull him closer. My world spun, and I couldn't tell up from down, nor could I tell where I was headed.

"_Va bene, va bene, _don't panic..." I heard Mirage say, probably more to himself than me, and I was moving. I wasn't on my feet, but I was sure I was more kind of... flopping around like a ragdoll. I wasn't sure how fast he was moving, but I could hear him talking over an audible comm link. "Ratchet? No, no, don't block me off! I know I'm late!"

There was the noise of him opening his own door, and the sun on my skin, which for some reason just made me colder. I remember his voice was shaky as everything went black.

"I'm on my way with Aspen! She's sick, and I don't know what to do! I'm coming! _Ho bisogno di aiuto!_"

* * *

><p><strong>OH TEH NOES! ASPEN!<strong>

**What could possibly be wrong with her? Can Ratchet help her? Is Red Alert going to flip the fuck out?**

**... Uh, well, no matter what situation you're looking at, I'm pretty sure that last one's always a "yes". XD**

**Yay, Italian translations!**

**Questo... Questo non è solo un raffreddore = This... this is not just a cold**

**Va bene, va bene = Okay, okay**

**Ho bisogno di aiuto! = I need help!**

**Next chapter is Stacie! Stay tuned, y'all, and if you happen to feel so inclined... leave a review!**

**Thanks for reading! ^^**


	17. Love is Like a Guiding Star

**WHEEEEEEE. It's a bit later than usual, so I'm sorry for that, but... Phantom of the Opera dragged me away. Literally! I forgot to keep my hand at the level of my eyes, so he took the opportunity to lasso me round the neck and drag me off to his lair and force me to write about him... and rent his book from the liberry...**

**BUT ANYWAY. You can also blame Davy Jones. *points to him and his damned crew* HIS STUPID HATE ROMANCE WITH CALYPSO DRAGGED ME AWAY TO START A NEW VIDEO. DAVY, YOU JUST STFU, I AM BUSY WITH TRANSFORMERS. Plus, she didn't deserve you anyway so... yeah. Leave me alone.**

**Hehe yeah well... mild writer's block, what can I say? Besides, when I open this document on my word program, it's taken to going veeeeery slow. Probably because this is one of my longest stories now. Oh yeah, changed my font... so it's actually like 103 pages. XD**

**Shout out to LittleEnglishLass! She and I were messaging, somehow got to talking about Invader Zim... and we decided that Stacie was a fan. Lol. We also decided that Megatron was Zim, Starscream was Dib, Knock Out was Professor Membrane, Slipstream was either Gaz or Tak, and Soundwave was Keef!**

**... I said Sunstorm was GIR, but who do you IZ fans think is Decepticon GIR, if Megatron is Zim?**

**LOL, yeah, I'm weird.**

**A bit of shameless self-promotion here: if you like Knock Out and Soundwave (wait, no, I-I didn't mean TOGETHER!), be sure to check out my story "Not As We". It starts during the tail end of "Triage" (the ep where Sounders' faceplate gets broken and KO's paint job takes some major damage) and diverges from there. It features my OC's, Alanna Wilson and Jess Burne. And flashbacks of my other OC, Lisa James, with Breakdown. And even though its initials read NAW, I promise you it's very serious and depressing! (Y'know, for those of you who are into angst and hurt/comfort...)**

**Well, I hope y'all like this chapter! I think it's a little longer than Aspen's... happy dance! :D**

* * *

><p>Well, the next month wasn't as totally, completely awkward as I thought it would be. We all basically learned to live with each other, and even though Knock Out annoyed me... well, he had his moments. Life was pretty much the same as it had been before, with the exception of I now had a guardian and we had another medic. It was actually kind of nice... having more people around.<p>

Hiding on an out-of-the-way riverbank, we didn't exactly have a medical bay right then, but Knock Out marked his territory. Well, more like set up a little wall, because he was loath to think of someone invading his space. He'd claimed the other side of the bank under the bridge as his personal med bay, as he could step over the water. He wouldn't have to change clothes or, in his case, worry about rust. The other side of the bank where I'd set up my little makeshift playpen, he acknowledged that as my nursery for Controller, and didn't impose upon it.

Knock Out was mostly a blessing when he was helping me and Scalpel with repairs. He'd told me before that he was better at taking things apart than putting them back together, but he was actually very good at helping me. The only thing that happened when we were put in the same area was... arguments. I didn't want to fight with him, I _really_ didn't. I'm not the kind of person who likes confrontation. Just something about us... we got along for a little while, and then we started fighting.

With him, it took the form of looking over my shoulder while I was working. Sure, he'd pretend he was "combing" my hair with his claw, or he'd pick up Controller and feed him while he was looking. He'd be humming some song he'd heard on the radio one second, and then the next he'd make some offhanded comment about exactly how what I was doing was wrong. I was attaching the wrong part to the wrong place, I was using the wrong technique, I was doing totally _fine_ except that there was a more efficient way to do it.

Honestly, it drove me crazy. I don't get upset easily, because letting people get to me had never worked out well. I tried to just let it go, count to ten and take deep breaths. I would give him an insanely fake smile and apologize for my mistake in the sweetest voice I could manage without giving myself a cavity. I'd continue doing it, replacing what I'd been doing with the right way, _his_ way. If I'd been particularly offended, I would pick up my things and move my operation to my hiding place behind Megatron. (He didn't mind, though, as long as I kept working. Surprisingly, I actually worked at a better, faster pace when I was angry.)

I knew he didn't mean to be so inconsiderate all the time. The Decepticons may have been pretty social creatures by nature, but they didn't get a lot of practice dealing with people like me, whose feelings were easily hurt. He never really apologized to me or anything, but there was a certain, kind of ashamed look in his optics that I saw when he realized he'd gone too far. I think it was his way of silently owning up to his _really_ bad mistakes. That was good enough for me; as long as he made sure I saw that look before I climbed into Barricade's servo at night, I forgave him for everything he did.

I'll admit, I made the same mistakes too. Not in the same obvious, careless way he did, but I said just about the same things. I tend to get sarcastic and kind of emotionless when I'm very mad at someone - sometimes I don't even realize what I've said until I get away from the person. If I was mad at him, my voice would drop and I'd say something that was probably awful, and the worst part was the _tone_ I used. I would talk in this cold, biting tone, and try as I might to keep myself from showing it, I think my emanations gave away how much of a seething boil I was reaching. (At least to them.)

But as soon as I was calmed down enough to deal with that person again, I ran over and stumbled my way through an apology that was likely too copious and maybe even a little unintelligible. I would say "I'm sorry" probably at least a hundred times during the apology, and I connected the situation with other things in my mind. It was probably hilarious to watch though, with me going on about things that didn't make sense, and the other person having no idea what I was talking about, trying to stammer their way through my jumble of "sorry"s.

Knock Out always forgave me. Since I didn't hold things over him, he probably figured he shouldn't hold things over me or I'd get annoyed. Which I would, of course.

Slipstream and I hadn't exactly gotten any closer, though she did stop trying to pick fights with me every time she saw me. One of the reasons was probably because she figured out I wasn't going to fight back. She was looking for fights, and if I didn't do anything back, then what was she wasting effort for? Also, I was hoping it was a sign that maybe she trusted me more and was willing to perhaps, _just perhaps,_ try to form some kind of weird friendship. After all, as Megatron had said, she hadn't seen another girl in quite a while.

I hoped she was warming up to me even a little bit, because it would be nice to be able to talk to another woman, even if she wasn't human. Plus I could talk to her about the things I _couldn't_ talk to Sheila about; life with these guys, for instance. It wasn't always easy to work for the Decepticons, as "glamorous" as I make it seem. If I wanted to take a shower, I couldn't just go home and do it, since my parents thought I was still with my friends, so I had to go to the gym and take a shower. Half the time someone (usually Knock Out or Megatron) was breathing down my neck, either to berate my work or intimidate me to work faster. The other half, I was taking care of Controller.

I loved taking care of Controller, but... as much as I'd wanted a baby, it was harder than I'd expected. I'd studied, watched all the parenting videos, read everything about infant care I could get my hands on - I guess there's really nothing that can prepare you for the actual experience, no matter how much you _think_ you're prepared.

In the first month before, after Starscream had found him, the thing that frustrated me the most was the feeding schedule. Babies weren't hungry at the same times I was - which, with Controller, was probably a blessing because I couldn't very well take him into town. I thought I'd understood that, but it was a little groan-worthy when I was working and he needed to be fed. (Sometimes Starscream would give me a break, but it was obvious he'd never had to deal with hatchlings before. I thought it was just better that I usually do it, because he could get _really_ nervous if he had to handle Controller.)

This month, it was the crying. It hadn't been often that Controller cried, and the others called it "audial distress". (Knock Out, especially, had a habit of adding "accompanied by an optical fluid leak" to the end of that.) But trust me, it was _crying._ It was almost unbearable sometimes; I swore he would scream and shriek just because he wanted to see what he could make us do. _"Hey! I'm crying over here! I'm gonna blow out my audial processors! Whatcha gonna do about it?"_

There were times it made me want to scream too, but the clear problem with that was the fact that it wouldn't get either of us anywhere. It was lucky I _had_ watched all those videos and read all that stuff about Shaken Baby Syndrome, so I knew what to do if I felt frustrated enough that I wanted to hit something. (I'm an introverted, mostly submissive person, but believe me when I say it _definitely_ happens.) Whenever I felt like I was going to just _scream,_ I gave Controller to someone else - I didn't care who, as long as I got away - and sat under the bridge until I calmed down.

Thankfully, he seemed to settle down toward the end of the month, and Starscream got a little excited about that. He wasn't very good with actually handling hatchlings, but he did like them, and he told me that the crying episodes tapering down was indicative that Controller was going to be maturing into a sparkling very, very soon. That excited me too, because for one there wouldn't be the constant wailing (that by now usually just meant he wanted attention), and... I was eager to hear him talk.

I think we were all a little on edge about it, because we were curious as to whether his first words would be in Cybertronian, which Skywarp had been trying to teach him (and, admittedly, not doing so well since he kept getting distracted and wanting to play with Controller instead), or in English, which was my language. They only wondered about English because I had been his primary caretaker, and I didn't speak Cybertronian.

I'd asked Megatron to teach me, since he'd been good at teaching me times, but he wouldn't even try. He said I could write it, but I couldn't speak it because it was too fast of a language for my brain to process. If I tried speaking, the bot listening wouldn't know what I was trying to say since I'd be saying it too slow. If I tried to translate, I wouldn't be able to understand any of the sounds, which I could only interpret as beeping and other mechanical noises. (So, basically, trying to teach me to _speak_ it and not _write_ it would be a waste of time. But oh well, win some, lose some.)

Another Decepticon had found his way to Earth. His name was Breakdown, and he was Knock Out's assistant. At first I thought he and I weren't going to get along, because for some reason I thought anyone working with Knock Out either had to be just like him... or a freaking saint. But actually, he wasn't anything like Knock Out; he wasn't a whole lot like me either, though I doubt any 'Cons besides Skywarp were.

Breakdown was a fairly nice mech, if a little cautious of me at first. Just because I was a human, and he hadn't really dealt with humans all too much, so he didn't know what we were like. We were a bit alike, I suppose - we both didn't like crowds and worked better alone. Though, I'd gotten somewhat better since I'd met them. I didn't object to spending time with them, though of course neither did he. But when we were working, we'd much rather be alone. Well, we worked alright together though; it was just that crowds made Breakdown nervous.

We actually got along pretty great. It was a relief for me, to know that I had another friend with the Decepticons. Plus, he was a big help in teaching me about Cybertronian anatomy. Knock Out had refused to do it long ago when I asked him - said _trial and error_ was a better method for me.

I'd also shown my friends one of my favorite shows ever, which I had on my iPod. It had been years since it'd been on the air, and it was kind of a childish thing to be interested in, but they seemed to like it anyway. They didn't make fun of me for liking it, in any case. It was called _Invader Zim,_ and was something Nickelodean had aired for a while. I watched it in high school, and my favorite part had been the rivalry between Zim and Dib because it was just so _funny._ They were both so paranoid.

Now that I'd met these guys, I was starting to embrace another part of the show: its comedic sociopathy. That, of course, was what Barricade liked best about it; he was always one to chuckle when something unfortunate happened to anyone. Except me, because he'd feel it over the bond and when it was _him,_ it wasn't funny. Starscream and I, especially, liked to quote the show's various random... quotes. It was a lot of fun singing The Doom Song with him and Sunstorm.

I'd assigned the role of Zim to Megatron, much to his optic-rolling chagrin. Starscream raised an eye ridge at my casting, but he just ran with his niche of being Dib. The thing that scared me the most was that... I-I think Knock Out was _waaaaaay_ more happy about being dubbed Professor Membrane than he should have been.

Surprisingly, Megatron and I were alone again several times. The Seekers left every day for a while, to scout out energon, since our "stockpile" was beginning to run out. Breakdown liked to look for other Decepticons, wanting to see if he could find anyone else to help the cause. And Knock Out... well, Knock Out liked to go street racing. I made the mistake of going with him one time, and I almost ended up being pitched from his Aston Martin alt mode. After that I decided I'd be safer staying with Megatron at the riverbank when the others were gone instead of going with Knock Out.

It wasn't awful, actually. With the rebuilding and taking care of Controller, there was never a dull moment. I'd apologized for the "kiss", and said I didn't know what I'd been doing till Barricade explained it to me, and would he please forgive me? He did, however annoyed he sounded about it and however much he growled at me. (He wasn't always serious though... I discovered that he just liked to growl, no matter what the situation.)

I was _so_ close to being done with rebuilding his legs. I just had to finish soldering a few plates onto the pedes, and then I could attach them. Then at long last he'd be able to walk again. He was getting really anxious, waiting for the final touches to be put on, but at the same time he'd calmed down a little, realizing that I could only work so fast. I was gradually teaching him more about humans - namely, the fact that I needed breaks once in a while or I would go crazy. So he didn't usually mind when I said I needed a break. I think he was a little afraid I _would_ go literally crazy and start screaming or something.

Believe it or not, it wasn't all that bad when we were alone, even when I took breaks. There were a few times when I was working that I told him stories about what my life had been like before. I casually mentioned once that when I was a sophomore, I had been on my high school gymnastics team and gotten silver for one competition. When he asked me what that was, I grinned and gave a demonstration. Honestly, I was a little glad that I had something to remember my previous years, before everything went downhill.

I started with a cartwheel, which turned into two cartwheels, then three, then four and five. I had to laugh when he was stunned by the way I moved; I hardly stopped for the transition of one into another. Though after five, I got a little winded and had to switch to something else. So I did a few flips, bending over backward and planting my palms in the grass before flipping over and landing on my feet, then doing it again. He said the gymnastics resembled a sport back on Cybertron, but I wasn't even going to attempt to pronounce it.

He did tell me, though, that the athletes who practiced the sport were considered the most graceful and agile of all bots. (And they were usually femmes, which gave me the suspicion that it was something remarkably similar to gymnastics.)

I think his favorite part was when I walked on my hands. _"Can all humans do that?!"_ It was my opinion that he thought if all of us could do things like that, he might as well abandon his quest now! Why, I have no idea, because what's walking on your hands compared to a bunch of guns, but... well, his processor worked in very strange ways.

While I was walking on my hands, I wandered a little too close to the river, lost my balance, and fell in. I was a little shocked, and hoped I hadn't hit my head on a stone, but the biggest blessing was that I thankfully hadn't fallen facedown. So I'd escaped a possible drowning, because I read somewhere that you can drown in an inch of water. I pushed myself up, and saw that he was looking at me with an expression that could only be holding back laughter.

He was probably surprised by the fact that I started laughing too. I thought it was funny, that usually I wasn't clumsy around anyone but him. Most of the time I was pretty balanced and aware of my surroundings, but when I was talking to him or looking at him or... just... my face would always get hot if I focused on him for more than five seconds.

I'd be the first to admit that working for the 'Cons wasn't the ideal life for anyone, but... it wasn't all bad all the time. I knew Megatron probably didn't feel the same way, but the feeling I had with him was... amazing. Save for the one time we had sex, I... I'd never felt like that with Ricky before.

Based on the last month I'd had, well... I wouldn't object if they wanted to keep me.

* * *

><p>By this time, Megatron had told all the others my story, so they all knew what had happened to me. Their processors couldn't comprehend why someone would deliberately do that... apparently, that sort of thing didn't exist where they came from, as Megatron had implied. But for the most part, they didn't pester me about it or worry about me. I was starting to get over it, and... even if it was a slow process, I hid my feelings extremely well. (Perhaps I was starting to integrate deception into my personality...)<p>

So, there was always just a little bit of panic when I let my vulnerability show through. Most of the time, I was either upbeat, trying to keep order, or nonchalant. If I complained that I was tired or that I was in pain, Barricade or Starscream would be there in a nanoklik to make sure it wasn't anything serious.

Typically, the 'Cons let me have my breaks to myself, to just lie around and rest for a minute. But sometimes, they wanted to see my gymnastics, which Megatron had told them about. In particular, Knock Out and Skywarp liked my mini-routines; they'd shout out different things for me to do. Skywarp loved it when I did one-handed stands, especially if I switched from one hand to the other, while Knock Out's personal favorite was having me set up a log over the river and do balance beam tricks.

Which was precisely what I was doing. I hadn't felt that great since I'd woken up that morning, and I knew Barricade could sense it. But I guess since I didn't complain about anything other than being excessively tired and my stomach feeling weird, and he couldn't really feel anything except that, he figured I'd be okay if I didn't strain myself. I was kind of warm for some reason, which didn't happen often. I opted to ignore it, because I was probably just having a bit of an off day.

I'd walked all the way to one end of the log, onto the other side of the river. I did flips all the way over, and was contemplating what kinds of things I should do on the way back. I prepared to step onto the log, but the moment I lifted my foot, I felt a horrible, sharp pain in my right side. It was low, near my hip, and wasn't just on my front; it extended all the way around to my back too.

My head swam, and I couldn't do anything but collapse into a heap right there. I screamed as I did, wrapping my arms tightly around my middle. I heard several of the 'Cons shout my name, and in the middle of this weird, fuzzy feeling in my head, I could hear Knock Out musing about something. Something... about how he'd read on the internet about humans being overworked and having "these odd things called anxiety attacks... I've never understood why they call it being attacked, but it fits how she looks..."

But it wasn't. I'd had anxiety attacks, and they didn't really cause physical pain. Sweating and a little nausea, maybe, but not _pain._ I didn't have too much time to concentrate on the thought before my stomach began roiling. I quickly leaned over the river, and I couldn't stop myself from throwing up. I managed to wipe my mouth off, and I started crying.

I felt someone scoop me up in their servo, and the emanation of worry that was sent over my bond confirmed it as Barricade. "She's extremely hot," I could hear him say. "Hotter than a human should be, I think... and I can feel it, she's in a lot of pain." It didn't show in his voice, but he was _really_ concerned for me. "Knock Out... what do I do? Can you fix her?"

"I don't know..." Someone else's claw touched my head, and Knock Out whistled lowly. "I think she's got what humans call a 'fever'. She's overheating, and she doesn't look good... I don't think her body can take the extra heat. As for the pain..." He paused, seeming to consider something. "She may be very sick. I don't know much about human disease..."

"Well, can you _try_ to fix her?" Barricade hissed, bringing his other servo underneath me too. "You're supposed to be a medic!"

"Calm down, Barricade." He vented. "Look, I can't tell how ill she is. If she's sick enough to require some kind of surgery... well, she's too small for me to 'get in there', so to speak."

"Then tell me," I was surprised to hear Megatron entering the conversation, "what are we supposed to do about her condition... _Doctor?_"

Knock Out cleared his intakes. "Er, well... I would advise taking her to one of these human 'hospitals' I seem to read so much about. I'm not sure where the nearest is, but..."

"T-Tranquility General," I spoke up, turning over onto my back and trying to catch my breath from having just emptied my stomach. "Left from here... five miles..."

"Put on your siren," Knock Out added. "I hear the human police can go as fast as they want if it's urgent."

"Urgent, my sine function." Barricade transformed around me, and for a brief moment I was in the air, before I fell back down onto the backseat. "She needs help."

His sirens began to blare, and I fumbled to reach into my pocket for my phone. It wasn't totally charged, but I hoped it'd be enough. I lamely pressed speed dial one, and tried to hold it up to my ear.

"What are you doing?!" I heard Barricade screech through the radio. "You could be - it's - this is no time for phone calls, femme!"

There was a beep, and I barely was able to get out, "Mom? Dad?"

_"Stacie? Hi honey! Are you on your way home? Did you have a nice trip?"_

My eyes closed. "Mom, my... my friend's driving me to the hospital. The one by that factory." I felt like I was going to black out... oh God... "C-Can... Can you and Dad meet me there?"

_"What happened? Did you get hurt or-"_

Everything around me went black, like someone had put a bag over my head. My arm lolled down, and I dropped my phone onto the floor.

_"Stacie? Are you there? Stacie! STACIE?!"_

* * *

><p><strong>OH TEH NOES! NOT ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER!<strong>

**But don't worry, because Aspen's cliffie will be answered next chapter, and Stacie's will be resolved in chapter 19.**

**... Who else is super excited for Chapter 20? 8D *insert stupid grin face here* I love getting to C20, 'cause it feels like a major accomplishment that I've stuck with a story that long. So, expect to be thanked again when we get to Chapter 20, lol.**

**Hope you guys liked! Remember to review, and thankies for reading! ^^**


	18. Make a Wish Before It's Gone

**AWRIGHT! It's been a while, so I vewy sowwy about dat. I kept losing inspiration for this and getting sidetracked, but I hope you like this!**

**Mwahaha... I must do a bit of self-promoting here, as I must do in every chapter. New story called "Roses Are Red", which are basically year-round Valentine's poems from the Transformers characters. If you like sappy, you must read it. :D So far I have TFA Blurr, TFP Starscream, and TFP Megatron up. :)**

**Well, we FINALLY find out what's wrong with Aspen in this chapter. I had to throw some drama in here, okay? XD Next chapter is Stacie's, and it may not be quite as long, I'm afraid.**

**But, after this whole "recovering" shit is finally over, there should be some ACT-EE-OH-NAY. That's Italian for ****_action!_**

**Mirage: No it's not.**

**Me: SHUT YOUR FACE.**

**SURPRISE POV SWITCH IN DA MIDDLE BUT NOT WHAT YOU MIGHT THIIIINK.**

**It's a bit lengthy, but I hope you enjoy, guys!**

* * *

><p>I kept coming in and out of sleep - or consciousness? - on the ride to base, so I don't remember much of it. All I remember is Mirage freaking out and muttering things in Italian, and probably going way past the speed limit.<p>

The next thing I knew, I was lying on top of a berth in Med Bay. I saw Ratchet, and Jolt, and Mirage standing over by the door, looking scared as anything. Strangely enough, I didn't see Red Alert. My head was still foggy, and I reached my hand out for something, anything. "G-Guys...?"

"Aspen." A bright light was shone in my face, courtesy of Ratchet. "Do you know where you are?"

"I... I think I'm in Med Bay. I'm sorry I was late..." I tried to sit up, but my body was suddenly way too heavy for me to maneuver. "I think I just need some Tylenol... then I can... hit the books..."

"Unless you want a wrench to the head, that's a definite _no,_ Aspen." He turned his light off, and I relaxed a little. "Don't you even move. It looks like Mirage was right - I don't think this is minor. He said you're having a hard time breathing." I felt the doctor lay a claw over my chest, giving it a pressure that seemed almost unbearable at the time. "Now, take a deep breath for me."

I flattened my hand against the berth, swallowing. I did my best to draw in some air, but with the combination of his claw and the existing tightness, I barely made it a second. I started coughing again, and I'm pretty sure my face actually turned red. My head was spinning, and my chest felt like it was on fire. Like something was stabbing my lungs.

"Slag it! Jolt, get the salbutamol!"

Before I could even say anything, a needle plunged itself into my arm. I shrieked and tried to kick at whoever'd given me that shot, but after a few seconds I noticed I could breathe again. I managed to open my eyes and was met Jolt's holoform - wide-eyed, staring at me from behind neon bangs, and holding an empty syringe in shaking hands. "J-Jolt? Thanks..."

He let out a sigh of relief. "Don't thank me just yet. I don't think it'll stay that way for long."

"I agree," Ratchet vented. "We must find out what's causing this."

"Do you have any ideas?" Jolt asked, putting the syringe down.

"I'm not sure..." Ratchet shook his helm. "From what I've read, the symptoms she's experiencing could indicate any number of human ailments. The cough, the fever, difficulty breathing... it can't be pinned down to just one thing. We'll have to do some tests." He looked down at me, and gently brushed a claw against my forehead. "Aspen, try to get some rest. I need to speak with Mirage. Jolt? If she goes into bronchospasm again, just give her another shot of salbutamol."

"Same dose, Doc?"

"Yes. I'll be back in a few kliks."

"Got it." Jolt slid his holoform's hand into mine, offering up a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry, Single Lady. We're gonna find out what's wrong with you."

As Ratchet walked away, I closed my eyes. I could hear him taking my guardian outside the doors and saying something about "Mirage, a moment please..." I didn't catch much else, because I think it took all of a minute for me to fall asleep - or pass out.

Still not sure which.

* * *

><p>"Let me have it," Mirage muttered, crossing his arms. "What, was it something you couldn't let her hear? I knew it. She is in trouble, isn't she?"<p>

"Calm down, Mirage. I need you to keep a clear processor right now." Ratchet reached over, placing a firm servo over Mirage's rotator cup. "I was being honest in there - I _don't_ know what's the matter with her. I said I'd have to do tests, and..." He vented, letting his servo slip down. "Look, you're her guardian. There's the one test I could do right now. It's called a bronchoscopy and is very effective, but... it's slightly invasive. The upside to it is that if I can manage to do it correctly, it should tell me what's wrong with her."

The Ferrari glanced in the window, looking at his charge lying on the berth. It looked like she was asleep now; Jolt was back in bipedal form, watching her closely and holding her hand with one claw. "You are asking my permission."

"Yes." The younger mech's gaze didn't go unnoticed by the medic. "I only do so because the test would require her to be put under sedation, and she's clearly in no state to be signing papers and whatnot herself. She can barely lift her own hand. I just wanted to make sure it was alright with you."

Mirage cleared his intakes, never taking his eyes off Aspen. He couldn't ever remember her being so broken and helpless... humans were so fragile. "Would it cause her pain?"

"Not much post-surgery. As for during the procedure, she'll be unconscious. Shouldn't feel a thing."

He nodded, loosening his arms just a little. He didn't like this... the very purpose of having a guardian was to keep your charge safe, and he hadn't even managed to do that. "And... will it... will it help you find out how to make her better?"

"I believe so. Based on what I've been researching, the only test that would be any more effective would be an X-ray."

"Well, why don't you do that?"

"Mirage, if I can be honest..." He moved just a little closer, not wanting any passersby to overhear and cause a panic. "I don't think she'd be able to take that right now. Her coughing is too violent and it's sending her into those spasms. I doubt she'd be able to sit still long enough for _any_ procedure unless she was unconscious. And I can't do an X-ray while she's out because for one thing, I need to tell her to move a certain way so it photographs properly. We can't be moving her about like a doll. For another, it involves high amounts of radiation that can be lethal to humans. One X-ray probably won't do anything to her - humans get them all the time, after all. But with her being the way she is... I don't want to take any chances."

Mirage looked down at the floor, turning it over in his processor for a moment. Aspen was sick; sicker than he'd ever seen her, even though he'd only been her guardian for three months. He'd halfway blocked off the bond on the way here, but he still knew how utterly terrible she felt right now. If what Ratchet was suggesting wouldn't cause her too much discomfort, and would help him find out what was wrong with her, he wanted it done. "Yes. I want you to do whatever you can. But," he added quickly, grabbing the medic by the wrist, "I believe we should let her femme creator know about this. She is technically being hospitalized, and... they are close. She would want to know."

Ratchet nodded stiffly, removing the other mech's arm. "Alright, I agree then. Do you know of a way to contact her?"

"Well - argh." He twisted to looked behind him and patted himself down. "I _know_ that _Cenere_ left her communication device somewhere in my alt mode... but since I've transformed... _ah..._" He let his limbs dangle, and rubbed at his helm. "I... will go into the parking lot and use my holoform to search my alt mode. Just give me a few kliks..."

"Right. Meanwhile, I suppose Jolt and I should prep her for surgery."

"Wait, let... let me tell her, _eh?_ I don't want her to be afraid."

"Alright, come on in... then I want you to _find_ that phone so I can call her creator."

"_Sì..._ I just have to see her."

* * *

><p>"Aspen! Aspen!" I was basically startled awake by Red Alert trying to get to me and Jolt holding him back. "Ratchet commed me five kliks ago! I'm so sorry! I got here as fast as I could, I-!"<p>

"Red, come on!" Jolt wrapped his arms around Red Alert's middle, yanking him back. "Single Lady's trying to sleep! You can para-_annoy_ her later!"

"_Let go, she might be offlining!_"

I took a few shallow breaths, not able to handle much more than that, and coughed a few times. I raised my arm and waved my hand. "Jolt," I managed a giggle, "let him come over. I'm up now."

Jolt looked suspiciously at Red Alert, then vented and slowly removed his arms. "_You,_ be careful," he warned Red Alert. "We don't need her getting all worked up and having to get another shot." Then he looked at me. "And _you,_ don't even try to move or I'll comm Ratchet. He'll be in here faster than Sideswipe at a racetrack."

"Okay, okay, I get it, Jolt." As soon as Red Alert reached my berthside, he slipped a claw into my hand, and I curled my fingers around it. "Hey there, Red Alert... how was your morning?"

"Forget about how _my_ morning was!" He leaned down to look straight into my eyes, and I saw it was clear that he wasn't just being normally paranoid; he was genuinely scared and worried about me. "Clearly you've had the worst morning in the history of the universe! J-Jolt, what's wrong with her? Is it that cybonic plague? Oh Primus... _s-scraplets?! IT'S NOT SCRAPLETS, IS IT?!_"

"Calm down, Red," I muttered, rubbing my fingers over his claw. "That stuff only gets you guys sick. Ratchet's gonna figure it out..."

"_Cenere?_"

My guardian entered the room, and apparently even Red Alert knew when to back off because he made way. Mirage knelt down to me, draping his first two claws over my forehead and looking me straight in the eyes. He offlined and onlined his optics before speaking. "_Cenere..._ Ratchet has a plan. There is a test he will do, and he... he only wanted to ask me if it was alright before he did it." His voice was very quiet, and almost shaky. A first for him, since there was rarely an occasion when he wasn't oozing confidence.

I nodded slowly, careful not to breathe too deeply. I didn't want another shot. "Okay. I'm up for it. What kind of test is it?"

Ratchet walked back into the room, and just happened to catch my question. Good thing too, because it looked like Mirage didn't know the answer. "A bronchoscopy," he replied, picking up his datapad and probably making a whole new folder just for me. "Normally it's performed with local anesthesia injected into the face, but given that you seem to be exacerbated by the smallest things right now, I thought it best that we'll put you under general anesthesia. Besides, it would be quite uncomfortable without."

I closed my eyes. "Right. I haven't been put out before, but I mean... if I need it, I need it, you know? As long as it helps you find out what's wrong with me, I'm fine with whatever you need to do."

"Good. As I told Mirage, it's a bit invasive, but all things considered, it's rather simple." He barely even looked up as he talked. "I'll slide a specialized tube down your throat so I can see your lungs on the screen. From there it's just a matter of looking around until I see what the problem is."

"Gotcha. When ya gonna do it?"

"Hopefully, within the next hour. I don't think you can stand to get much worse, and as far as I know, a continuous intravenous line of salbutamol is... not healthy." He tapped something, then looked over at Mirage. "Don't you have something to go _do,_ Mirage? Something you promised me you would do after I let you see her?"

He blew out some air, then drew up to his full height, his claws still on me. "_Sì..._ I will go do that." He slowly pulled his claws away from me, and slid them down the side of my cheek before folding them in against his palm. By the part of the bond I could still feel, the only things I picked up from him were love and concern. Just with the way he acted, I knew him well enough to understand that he was seriously frightened for my life. "I will be back, _Cenere._"

He only made it halfway to the door before he had to look back at me. "You are in my every thought. I will worry until I am with you again."

I'd figured out a while ago that phrases like that were traditional Cybertronian things to say between guardians and their charges, especially if something particularly emotional was happening. They thought that just leaving it at "see you soon" was bad luck, and impolite; they tacked those things on the end to make sure that their charge - or guardian, depending on who was speaking - would be okay till they got back.

I gave him a smile, lacing my fingers together over my stomach. "Thanks, Mirage. I'll miss you."

I don't even think he wanted to see me like this anymore. He just wanted to not think about it, but that was impossible. Because he was my guardian, we were bonded, and that came with feeling what was on the other end of your bond. It must have been awful for him, to be constantly reminded of how I felt and knowing there wasn't anything he could do.

He could've blocked off the bond on his end, but he didn't. I'm pretty sure that was meant to tell me, _Hey. I love you, and you're not going anywhere without me, okay?_

The moment he was gone, Red Alert moved back to my side, considerably less frantic. "He seemed eager to leave," he vented, looking down. "I know he's upset, but... I hope he hurries back. I wouldn't want him to leave you. Guardians shouldn't-"

I giggled, squeezing his claw. "I wouldn't worry about that, Red." I closed my eyes. "He knows he's _stuck_ with me."

* * *

><p>Sure enough, forty-five minutes later I was lying on the operating table, hooked up to a heart monitor, a breathing monitor, and a blood pressure cuff. Ratchet didn't even bother making me change into a gown, probably because he'd taken human hospital standards and chucked them out the window already. Everyone was in holoform, with Jolt and Ratchet on my right side, Red Alert and Mirage on my left. Mirage was holding my hand, while Red was keeping a close opticeye on all the monitors.

Jolt was ready to turn on the anesthetic at his cue, and Ratchet was near my face with the plastic mask. "Are you ready, Aspen?" he asked softly, hovering his hand over me. I noticed that when he sincerely thought someone might die without medical help - as opposed to Sideswipe's various dents and tiny leaks - his bedside manner did a virtual 180.

I swallowed, and looked over at Mirage without moving my head. "Ready as I'll ever be."

"Alright. Just relax." He fitted the mask over my mouth and nose, and I took as deep a breath as I could. "Now, we won't start until we're sure you're unconscious. I've heard of a popular method, so I'd like to test it out, if you don't mind."

"Knock yourself out."

He snickered. "I'm trying to do that to _you._ Now, I want you to count backwards from ten with me. Ready?"

"Uh-huh."

"Ten."

"Nine..."

"Eight."

"Seven..." I barely even heard him say _six_ before everything went black again.

* * *

><p>The first voice I heard when I could actually hear again was Mirage. "Slag it all. Jolt, didn't Ratchet say she should have woken up by now?"<p>

"Yeah... it's weird, isn't it?" Jolt sounded surprisingly chill, but considering he was probably the voice of reason at the moment, he might have just been trying to keep the peace. "I read that it varies, though, so..."

"_We offlined her!_" Ah, good old Red Alert, never level-headed or sane and that was what we liked best about him. I could picture him rocking back and forth in the corner, bawling his optics out. "The equipment must be faulty, _and we took her offline!_"

"Would you _calm the frag down,_ Red?" Jolt groaned. "I bet she's going to wake up any minute and slug you for being such a protoform."

"Mmmmuhhhhnnnn..." I regretted opening my eyes, because my head was foggy as hell. "Why didn't you start? Did I wake up too soon?"

"Oh, thank Primus she's still online!" A servo that I assumed to be Red Alert's enveloped my hand, and I was glad he was already worried about my health. If this was his gentle grip, his normal one would probably break my hand. "_Thank you, Primus! Thank you!_"

"Slag off," I mumbled, pushing my leg against him. "What happened? Didn't I go out?"

Mirage chuckled, and I looked over to see two of him before shaking my head. "_Cenere,_ it's over. They already did the test, and Ratchet is getting your medicine on the other side of base."

"Really?" I coughed, but thankfully it was only a small string and not a fit like before. "So he... he found out what was wrong with me?"

"Sure did." Jolt's claw traced over my hair. "He said what he saw was indicative of something called pneumonia. He also said that it seems like you have more than just a mild case. That's why you had trouble breathing. He told us that it was his professional opinion that you wouldn't have gotten better without medicine - azithromycin, in your case. You would've had complications and probably been placed in what humans call an intensive care unit."

"You didn't think it was that bad." It almost seemed like Mirage had to put forth serious effort to choke that out, and I swear I even saw a little fluid leak under his optic. In my haze it could have been anything, but I choose to think he was crying even though he would have been far too proud to admit it. "You were just going to stay in bed and hope it went away. You said it was just a cold. But it wasn't. Ratchet says this can kill humans."

He dropped down to his knees, and brought my hand close to him, pressing it against his chamfron armor. "_Cenere,_ you could have died. If you stayed there, you..." He had to take a breath before he could speak again. "_Avresti potuto morire._"

I patted my hand lightly against his armor, taking in the full effect of his words. He was right; I probably _could_ have died if he hadn't forced me to just shut up and drove me here. People in better shape than me died of pneumonia. If I hadn't accepted this job and met these guys, if I'd never had Mirage as my guardian... I could have been fighting for my life in some hospital's ICU, where there would have been patients more important than me.

"I'm fucking lucky," was what I finally decided on saying. "Everybody here cares about me enough that you guys won't take any risks with me. Sure, you'll laugh if I do something stupid on my own, but... if there's something you can do about it, you won't leave it alone. I don't know what in the hell I ever did to deserve all that, and... and you probably saved my life." I curled my fingers against his armor, feeling tears prick at my own eyes. "God, Mirage... I'm lucky to someone who loves me enough to worry."

He lowered his servo, my hand resting over just one claw. "You dodged a bullet, _Cenere._"

"Yeah, thanks to you." I hadn't even closed my eyes before a thought occurred to me, and I snapped them open again. "Um, has anybody told Optimus about what went down here?"

"..."

"I'm on it," Jolt sighed, heading out the door.

* * *

><p><strong>Italian translations!<strong>

**Sì = yes**

**Avresti potuto morire = You could have died**

**Awwww Mirage. I wonder how OP is gonna react when he finds out, lol... should be interesting.**

**NEXT CHAPTER. YOU SHALL FIND OUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO STACIE. AND HOW ZEE 'CONS FEEL ABOUT IT.**

**...**

**ONE MAN! ALONE!**

**Simmons: ****_MY LINE!_**** *chases me***

**See you all next time! ^^**


	19. Before the Dawn

**Woo! This was so much fun to write. I don't know why, but I loved writing in Barricade's POV. This is like... probably more than half in his this chapter. Just because Stacie wasn't even conscious for most of it.**

**Also, I have a biggie announcement. I have auditioned for several Transformers stopmotion projects on YouTube, mainly for the TF: Prime universe, as both Arcee and Airachnid. (I don't like Airachnid, like, AT ALL, but she's so much Goddamn fun to play.) I also received an offer from another person to voice a villain in another project, based on their listening to my Airachnid audition, though I don't know if that one is TF. But I'm very excited, and I wanted to share it with you guys.**

**If you want to watch/listen to my auditions, here are the links. Just remove the spaces and replace an actual dot!**

**My audition for Arcee: watch?v=HwkK9qZy22E**

**My audition for Airachnid: watch?v=XBd7PhvcWIE**

**As for Stacie's ailment, I was going off of the pain from my own predicament and surgery, though I didn't have the exact same problem that she did. (The doctors thought this was my problem at first, though.)**

**I hope you all like this chappie~ :D**

* * *

><p>Barricade had never been more scared in his entire existence. He'd never had someone to protect before, and he couldn't fail; for her sake and for his. He was going as fast as he could, with his lights flashing and his sirens blaring, and he still feared he wouldn't arrive at the hospital quickly enough to get Stacie help. He tried talking to her through the radio, even raising his voice so much static crackled through the speakers, but she was talking on her cell phone.<p>

He heard her say "Mom" and "Dad" - her creators. In the brief time he'd been here with her, she'd never told him about them. She never went anywhere that could be construed as their home, where they lived, and he would know because he drove her everywhere. She only talked to them. _Primus..._ was he going to have to make something up to tell them? He didn't want to deal with them while he was busy trying to deal with her.

He felt her phone hit the floor of his interior, and her end of their bond dulled. He tried calling her again, so loud his speakers nearly blew out, but she would answer him. It was frightening, because someone was still screaming through the phone, and he could feel Stacie twitching and shaking in the seat. That was probably the fever, he supposed, but... what if it wasn't?

_"Stacie? Are you there? Stacie! STACIE?!"_

He cycled his vents, and called out, in hopes that her creators could hear him on the other end of the connection. "Hello! Mrs..." He fumbled with the memory of his charge's family name. "Mrs. Woods? Can you hear me?"

_"Oh my God! Yes, I can hear you, what happened?!"_

"She's... I think she's unconscious."

_"She passed out?!"_ The woman's voice muffled briefly. _"Bob! Bob, we have to get to the hospital! Stacie's with her friend and he said she just passed out! Go start the car!"_ Her voice got clearer again. _"H-Hello? Are you still there?"_

"Yes."

_"Oh God, oh thank God! Where are you guys headed?"_

"Er... she told me to take her to, uh... Tranquility General." He took a sharp turn, muttering a few curses under his breath. "I don't know the area well, lucky I have this global positioning system."

_"Good good, just go with the GPS... we'll meet up with you there. Bob, for God's sake, get out there now! You know that damn car doesn't start up in less than a minute!"_

He had to mentally raise an eyebrow at the way she was yelling at the person who was obviously her mate. Did all human sparkmates argue like that? "It looks like I'll be there soon. I had to drive her in my police car."

_"You're a cop? Oh God! Good! Just... Just hurry and get her to the hospital. We'll be there soon. What's your name?"_

"Uh... Barry." He winced at the adoption of such an utterly annoying human name, but it was necessary for dealing with the creators.

_"That's funny... I don't remember her talking about you. I don't think I've ever even seen you, are you sure-"_

"Yes, I'm just... new in town." Lies, lies, lies; it was a good thing he was a Decepticon and so lying came naturally. He had to admit, though, it wasn't so easy to just make them up on the spot, one right after another - it required a lot of creative processing. "My other friends and I just moved here. Stacie's... taken to hanging out with us more than her other friends. Pri - I mean, God knows why because... we're used to being on our own. But she seems to like us."

_"That's good... good..."_ The human femme sounded slightly calmer now, and there was a loud clatter from somewhere on her end. _"Damn... looks like my husband's got the car running... we better get going. Can you stay on the line? I just... need someone who knows how she's doing."_

Scrap. "Uh, I, uh, I don't think I can. We're pretty close and I want to be able to get her in fast."

_"Right right, okay. I'll let you go then, and we'll be there in a few minutes. You'll notice us - we're the ones in the shitty silver Buick. I'm gonna hang up now, we'll be there soon."_

The phone offered a clicking sound, and he took that as the cue that Mrs. Woods had terminated the call, so he could breathe a sigh of relief. Now he just had to get Stacie to the hospital.

She still didn't reply. It really worried him that she couldn't hear him even over their bond.

* * *

><p>I woke up for a minute, just in time to hear Barricade swearing in Cybertronian; using that soft, irritated voice reserved for when he didn't want me to hear him, even though I usually could anyway. Surprisingly, it sounded like his voice was trembling, and I could feel that his holoform had gone clammy, when he placed his arms under me. He lifted me up with one hand on my back and one under my legs, holding me as tightly to him as he could, so that my head was hanging over one arm and my knee was against the muscles of his chest.<p>

I was still in so much pain. It was worse now, and it had moved lower. I could feel sweat seeping out of my pores, and I felt so hot that I almost couldn't take it. He was running, and with each step it was like a knife penetrated my stomach, over and over. It took everything I had right at that moment just not to vomit again.

He slowed down, and grunted as he pushed on something. It was cooler around now, and he was shouting. "Help! She needs help!"

I heard someone, a woman, ask what happened.

"She's unconscious and in pain, _just help her!_" He sounded so beside himself. I felt awful for making him worry so much about me. He was probably afraid I was going to die.

The same woman told him to come "this way", and we went through another door. Her voice was sounding garbled to me now, and when she stopped talking Barricade put me down in a sitting position. It felt hard underneath me, like a chair without a cushion.

"I don't know what happened." Based on how old his holoform looked, you would have expected him to handle the situation much better than he was; but from what I could hear, the only reason I could even understand half of what he said was because I could sense it over our bond. I could also sense that he was scared to death about what was happening right now. "We were with our friends and she just purged her systems and she's warm and I... I don't know what's wrong with her. What's _wrong_ with her?"

"Honey?" A cold hand clamped on my shoulder, with long fake nails. "Hon, what's your name?"

I tried to speak, but another wave of pain washed over me and all I could do was whimper. I moved my arms, in an attempt to point to where the pain was.

"Can you tell me any of her information?" the woman asked, speaking to Barricade now, once she realized she wasn't getting anything from me.

"Her name's Stacie Woods. I know she's twenty-four stellar - I mean years. Damn, I swear I'm thinking in circles here." I heard him chuckle nervously, but that was probably more for her benefit so she didn't mistake his language as that of a crazy person. "Twenty-four years old. That's all I know about her. Her parents said they'd be here, I don't know, they could probably tell you more..."

"Bar..." I slurred, and my mouth was dry. It felt like my head was full of cotton, and I reached out toward him. "Barr... Barri..."

I think that was when I fell to the side and fainted on his lap.

* * *

><p>He had been worried when she went unconscious again. It had only been a month that they had been together, but for some reason his bond with her was unusually strong. It always startled or frightened him when her end of the bond went weak. This was one of those times, and as scared as he was, he could only imagine how poor Skywarp was holding up.<p>

It was somewhat of a relief when her femme creator showed up, running behind the check-in desk and shouting, "I'm here! I'm June Woods, I'm her mother!" She provided information that he couldn't, the things about Stacie that they were asking for.

He was afraid that something was seriously wrong with her when they said they had to get her into a room. He had to carry her again, but she didn't wake up this time. She was limp in his arms, and June Woods had to grab his arm at first because he was going the wrong way. His processor could have easily been shambles for the way he was thinking. Even with her unconscious, he could feel what she felt, and if the way _he_ was feeling was any indication, she couldn't tell up from down right now.

Soon after he'd placed her on the bed, Bob Woods, her mech creator, had joined them after loud urging from June. She still didn't wake up, but after a few anxious minutes of waiting, during which June was shaking Stacie's shoulder and leaking from her eyes, telling her daughter to wake up, a different doctor came into the room.

He said they had to take Stacie for a CT scan, which Barricade assumed to be similar to a scan Knock Out would do with his portable indicator. At first he didn't want them to take her, after he figured out that this scan involved putting her through a machine, but he relented when the doctor explained that the scan would tell them what was wrong with her. And from there, they'd know how to fix it.

He didn't particularly like the time while she was getting the test, because that forced him to be alone in the room with her creators. His charge being a human, he could deal with that; he cared for her and didn't mind being with her. Two other humans who weren't his charge, though... that was pushing his patience. And that was without even mentioning how nervous he was, wondering what this scan would show.

Mostly her mech creator just sat there staring at the floor - which Barricade thought was a rather stupid thing to do, what was it going to accomplish? - but June talked to him. She gave him what he believed the humans referred to as "the third degree": asked him his name, age, where they'd been when Stacie passed out, and, he assumed, every other possible question that had entered her processor.

Thankfully, a string of lies came just as easily as the truth would have. He recited almost perfectly that his name was Barry Case, he was thirty-nine, and they'd been at a social gathering when she got sick. ("A party?" she'd asked, so he just nodded and agreed.) He said he was the father of one of her other friends and they got along very well. Of course, he didn't dare mention the word "guardian", though it did almost slip once or twice.

She believed every word out of his mouth... _humans._ So naïve. She probably even assumed that the reason he was tensed up was because he was worried about Stacie. That was true, he was, but he was also sick of dealing with these humans, annoyed by the questions, and trying not to have anything he'd said exposed as false.

Finally Stacie was back. He was so relieved when he could see her again, and though she'd woken up she wasn't in any shape for communication. She was dazed and dizzy and didn't speak, though she did purge her systems again, into the wastebasket June slid over quickly for her. After June wiped off her mouth with some little cloth, Stacie made an incoherent noise that couldn't be construed as even an attempt at speech, just an audible display of her discomfort, and fell asleep again.

The fear returned when the doctor came back a quarter of a joor later, with her test results. He explained that one of her organs, what he called an appendix, was seriously infected, and that her definitive diagnosis was acute appendicitis. When Barricade spoke up through gritted teeth and asked how they would fix her, the doctor answered that the only cure was removal of her appendix. And he also said it had to be done quickly, or they risked the organ bursting, which would spill bacteria into her abdominal cavity and kill her.

He had to sit there through all of it, watching them prep her for emergency surgery and horrified at the possibility that if he hadn't driven her here, she would have died. He couldn't let that happen, he didn't even dare to entertain the thought. That was just inviting bad news by thinking of it. Still, the thought of his charge, young and vulnerable and innocent, having to be cut open didn't sit well with him.

He'd block off the bond, that was what he'd do. He didn't even want to know how much pain she would have to be in for this.

* * *

><p>When I opened my eyes, everything was blurry at first. I was staring at a stark white ceiling, which almost burned my sense of sight. <em>I must be in the hospital...<em>

All at once, I noticed that the pain I'd had was gone. It had been replaced by a different pain, but this pain was actually tolerable. It was in a few different places, but most prominently at my side. It was sharp, but it didn't completely stab me, and it was less than the pain I'd had before.

I turned my head and groaned, and after blinking a few times I could see better now. I saw my parents sitting in chairs, as well as someone else... oh! It was Barricade in his holoform, with his arms crossed and his sunglasses tilted down. I managed to flex my fingers, reaching for any one of them - I didn't care which. "Mom? Dad?"

My mom leaned forward and carefully took my hand, and at the touch I was reminded that she loved me just as much as she pushed me. "Stacie, honey? Oh Bob, she's awake." With her other hand she stroked my hair. "How do you feel?"

I closed my eyes for half a second, then reopened them. "I'm sure I've been worse." I took a breath, then looked at my guardian. "Barricade...?"

He looked down at me, standing up and moving a little closer. Then he glanced at my parents briefly before giving a low chuckle. "She must still be a little out of it from being put under." He got down on one knee and patted my shoulder. "Stacie, it's me, Barry. Remember? She's just using my nickname." His explanation was a little shaky, I thought, but since I was half asleep I wasn't going to judge it. "She gave them to us."

"Speaking of that." My mother looked over at him, still gripping my hand lightly. "Aren't they wondering if she's okay? You said you guys were in the middle of a party when this happened."

"Yeah. I should... go get her phone from my car so we can call them. Let them know what's going on." He looked back at me, and his crimson eyes met mine as he rubbed my shoulder. "Would you like to talk to them, Stacie? I bet they're all worried. Shane... Skyler... Sunny... Karl... Larry... Theo... Randy..."

I noticed he was stressing the names, and confused as I was I could at least pick up that those were the names I was supposed to use while I was on the phone, once he brought it back for me. I could tell who each one was; Shane was Starscream, Skyler was Skywarp, Sunny was Sunstorm (of course!), Karl was Knock Out, Larry was Laserbeak, Theo was Thundercracker, and Randy was Ramjet.

"And Morgan especially." Barricade stood up, rubbing the back of his neck. "He's probably, you know... freaking out right now. Alright then, I'll be right back with your phone. I think it fell on the floor."

Ohhh. So Morgan was Megatron, then.

He left, smiling a little at me, and swung the door nearly closed as he did so. He was still tense, and I didn't need our bond to know it. Something had occurred while I was asleep, and he was uneasy about it.

I blinked and shifted a little. It hurt to move, but not as badly as it had to do the same before. I was more comfortable now; Barricade really pulled through for me. "Mom... what happened?"

"You had surgery." She leaned back, putting her hand on my dad's arm. "They had to take your appendix out - said it was infected. That's why you threw up and kept passing out. It's a good thing you had Barry looking out for you."

I nodded, swallowing. "I know." I couldn't believe I'd actually gone under the knife; I didn't think anything had happened except that I'd just somehow gotten better. It blew my mind that something so intense had been done and I didn't even remember it. "He's a good friend."

"So..." My mom grinned, though she was trying to keep it to a minimum. "Who's _Morgan?_"

I felt myself blushing, and I closed my eyes in some oddly-thought-out attempt to hide it. "He's just... this guy... this guy I like."

* * *

><p><strong>Oooooooh! As Knock Out would say, THIS IS GOING TO GET JUICY~<strong>

**Knock Out's probably wondering what's wrong with her, lol. Curious about the human anatomy and all that, as a medic. And Barricade's right, eh? Megs is probably FLIPPING HIS SLAG on some poor mook as we speak.**

**Well! Next chapter will cover Aspen's recovery, and... do I even need to say it? NEXT CHAPTER IS NUMBAH 20. MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT IN MAH BOOK.**

**Thanks for reading, luvies! ^^**


End file.
